BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/10/2007

Fitch on state-owned Belorussian banks

Oct 9 - This announcement corrects the version issued on earlier today. Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Support Rating Floor of BBK, BAPB, BPB and BIB at 'B-' (B minus).

Fitch Ratings has today affirmed the ratings of four Belorussian banks (listed below), which reflect Fitch's view on the capacity of Belorussian authorities to support these banks, if required. The Belorussian economy remains highly dollarized, which significantly limits the state's ability to provide support to the financial institutions. Belarusbank (BBK): Long-term Issuer Default rating (IDR): affirmed at 'B-' (B minus); Outlook Stable Short-term IDR: affirmed at 'B' Individual rating: affirmed at 'D/E' Support rating: affirmed at '5' Support Rating Floor: affirmed at 'B-' (B minus) Belagroprombank (BAPB): Long-term IDR: affirmed at 'B-' (B minus); Outlook Stable Short-term IDR: affirmed at 'B' Individual rating: affirmed at 'D/E' Support rating: affirmed at '5' Support Rating Floor: affirmed at 'B-' (B minus) Belpromstroibank (BPB): Long-term IDR: affirmed at 'B-' (B minus); Outlook Stable Short-term IDR: affirmed at 'B' Individual rating: affirmed at 'D/E' Support rating: affirmed at '5' Support Rating Floor: affirmed at 'B-' (B minus) Belinvestbank (BIB): Long-term IDR: affirmed at 'B-' (B minus); Outlook Stable Short-term IDR: affirmed at 'B' Support rating: affirmed at '5'. Support Rating Floor: affirmed at 'B-' (B minus) Individual rating: upgraded to 'D/E' from 'E' to reflect better diversification of the loan portfolio and funding base and improvements in risk management processes

BBK, BAPB, BPB and BIB are the largest state-owned banks in Belarus, which actively participate in state-lending programmes to support the state's social and economic policies. Given their strategic importance, the Belarusian government has stated its intention to keep control over banks until at least 2010.

BBK is the leading bank by assets and capital in Belarus and has the largest branch network.

BAPB is the second-largest bank in Belarus with a market share of total banking system assets of about 19% at end-H107. The bank's business is concentrated on the agricultural sector.

BPB is the fourth-largest bank in Belarus. It primarily services large corporate customers, including both state-owned and private enterprises.

BIB is the fifth-largest bank in Belarus, with about 7% of sector assets at end-H107. BIB specializes on providing investment loans to medium-sized enterprises.

Source:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2007-10-09T160006Z_01_WNA6852_RTRIDST_0_CORRECTED-OFFICIAL-FITCH-ON-STATE-OWNED-BELORUSSIAN-BANKS.XML