Magnetic circular dichroism in the spectral region from 270 to 850 nm and Faraday rotation at the wavelength of 655 nm in ultrathin (1.5-92.8 nm) films prepared by reactive ion beam sputtering of target of nominal composition Bi2.8Y0.2Fe5O12 were studied. The observed effects of the "blue shift," inversion of the signs and change in the intensity of magneto-optical transitions, are discussed. It is demonstrated that all studied nanoscale films reveal magnetic properties-and their composition depends on the method of substrate surface pretreatment.