Fitch IBCA Ratings - Press Releases - Fitch IBCA Assigns Ratings To Bank Ochrony Srodowiska SA

Fitch IBCA Assigns Ratings To Bank Ochrony Srodowiska SA

Fitch IBCA-London-17 December 1998: Fitch IBCA, the international rating agency, has assigned ratings to Poland's Bank Ochrony Srodowiska SA (BOS) at a Long-term of 'BBB-', a Short-term of 'F3', and an Individual of 'C'. The Support rating of '4' has been affirmed.

The ratings are to a large extent based on the bank's close links with the government, stemming from the important economic role it plays in financing environmental protection projects in Poland. They reflect its good profitability and high capital base, but also take account of the bank's relatively small size and strong loan growth in a developing market still to be tested in an economic downturn. BOS's ratings benefit from Fitch IBCA's upgrade of Poland's Long-term rating to 'BBB+' from 'BBB' in November. (See website www.fitchibca.com for press release Poland's Long-term Foreign Currency Rating Upgraded to 'BBB+', 19 November 1998.)

BOS is owned by the National Environment Protection Fund (NEPF: 39.9%), the State Forests Management Office (7%) and various regional environmental protection funds (10%-15%). NEPF is a quasi-government institution, earning most of its income from payments for using natural resources and penalties paid by companies as compensation for breaches of the environment protection law.

Contact: Bridget Gandy, London Tel: +44 (0)171 417 4222

NOTES: Fitch IBCA's Support and Individual Ratings for Banks Fitch IBCA's Individual ratings assess how a bank would be viewed if it were entirely independent and could not rely on external support. Its Support ratings deal with the question of whether a bank would receive support from its owners or from the state if it were to get into difficulty. These ratings are not debt ratings but rather, respectively, an assessment of the intrinsic strength of a bank and of any level of outside support that may, or may not, be available to it.

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