BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

25/10/2007

Belarusbank assigned 'E+' bank financial strength rating - Moody's

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Moody's Investors Service said it has assigned Belarusbank 'E+' bank financial strength rating (BFSR), 'Ba1' long-term and 'Not Prime' short-term local currency deposit ratings, 'B2' long-term and 'Not Prime' short-term foreign currency deposit ratings.

All of the bank's ratings carry a stable outlook, Moody's (nyse: MCO - news - people ) said.

The ratings agency said the bank's 'E+' BFSR, which translates to a baseline credit assessment of 'B1', is underpinned by its dominant market position as the Belarus' largest bank by assets, capital and retail deposits, as well as its good asset quality and increasing international profile.

However, the rating is constrained by the bank's fairly weak corporate governance due to the high level of government interference in the bank's business, very large borrower concentration and historically low profitability, Moody's said.

Moody's said the bank's 'Ba1/Not Prime' long-term/short-term local currency deposit rating factors in the agency's assessment of the very high probability of systemic support in the event of a stress situation, given 77.26 pct ownership by the Belarus government and the bank's dominant position in the country's banking system.

It added Belarusbank's 'B2' long-term foreign currency deposit rating is constrained by the country ceiling for Belarus.

Source:

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/10/25/afx4262415.html

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