S&P affirms Korea Exchange Bank notes

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed its BBB/A-2 counterparty credit ratings and its BBB- rating on the bank's lower tier II subordinated notes on Korea Exchange Bank and removed the ratings from CreditWatch, where they were placed on March 23, 2006.

The outlook on the long-term rating is positive.

The resolution of the CreditWatch placement follows Lone Star Funds' termination of an agreement with Kookmin Bank (A-/stable/A-2) to sell its stake in Korea Exchange Bank, the agency said, adding that the placement of the ratings on Korea Exchange Bank on CreditWatch with positive implications had reflected expectations that the higher-rated Kookmin would have provided strong support to the bank after the acquisition and that the market position of the combined bank would have improved.

S&P noted that the rating on Korea Exchange Bank reflects its competitive position in trade finance and foreign exchange and the focus of its new management team on improving efficiency and managing risk.

However, the bank's weak market position compared with its major competitors, along with consolidation in the domestic financial sector are constraining factors on the rating, the agency added.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.