BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

22/05/2008

Belarus' Belinvestbank assigned 'E+' BFSR; outlook stable - Moody's

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Moody's Investors Service said it has assigned its 'E+' bank financial strength rating (BFSR) to Belinvestbank, citing he bank's relatively strong market position as the fourth-largest bank in Belarus by assets, capital and retail deposits, as well as acceptable asset quality to date.

The outlook is stable.

Moody's (nyse: MCO - news - people ) also assigned its 'Ba2' long-term and 'Not Prime' short-term local currency deposit ratings, and 'B2' long-term and 'not prime' short-term foreign currency deposit ratings to the bank.

The local currency deposit ratings reflect the assessment of a very high probability of systemic support in the event of a stress situation, which is based on the bank's 81.6 percent direct ownership by the Belarus government, Moody's said.

The BFSR is constrained by the bank's modest profitability, capital adequacy and efficiency, as well as fairly weak corporate governance due to the high level of government interference in the bank's business, the rating agency said.

Source:

http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/05/22/afx5039246.html

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