Fitch ups Korea Exchange Bank view to positive

Fitch Ratings said it revised Korea Exchange Bank's long-term outlook to positive from stable and upgraded its individual rating to C/D from D. At the same time, the agency has also affirmed the bank's other ratings at long-term BBB-, short-term F3 and support 2.

The new outlook and the upgrade follow the release of the bank's preliminary 2004 results, which showed its improved operating performance, asset quality and capital position, Fitch said.

Fitch noted the bank's ratings have been constrained by its struggle with the legacy of large corporate bad loans and credit card losses. In 2004, despite continuing losses from its credit card division, the bank's bottom line achieved a turnaround to Korean won 522.1 billion net income with a 17.8% return on equity and 0.84% return on asset compared to Korean won 213.8 billion net losses in the previous year.

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