Moody's Investors Service has assigned the first credit ratings to TEXAKABANK OJSC (Kazakhstan)

/IRBIS, May 20, 03/ - Today Moody's Investors Service has assigned the first credit ratings to TEXAKABANK OJSC (Almaty), whose shares and bonds are traded in Kazakhstan stock exchange's (KASE) official "А" listing category. The message says that the agency has assigned to TEXAKABANK an E+ Financial Strength Rating (FSR) and ratings of B1/NP for long- and short-term foreign currency deposits. All ratings carry stable outlooks. TEXAKABANK is a small-sized Kazakhstani bank controlling less than one percent of banking assets in the country. Since its inception the bank has been strongly focused on small and medium-sized corporations, and on servicing their needs. Moody's believes that due to its small size and thus limited importance to the banking sector and economy as a whole, the bank is very unlikely to receive any support from the government in case of distress. Thus the B1 long-term foreign currency deposit rating does not incorporate any possibility of outside support. The E+ financial strength rating is constrained by the bank's small size and thus increased vulnerability to external shocks, and also by its weak franchise and limited client base. At the same time the FSR takes into account the bank's stable performance in recent years, its good asset quality and well developed market niche. As a major tax-collecting agent, TEXAKABANK has access to the taxpayer database, which helps it evaluate and score the creditworthiness of private individuals. The bank plans to leverage this competitive advantage by stepping up its activities in retail banking. TEXAKABANK's insufficient branch coverage limits its geographical reach. The bank focuses its activities on a regional basis with the city of Almaty as the main target market. TEXAKABANK is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and reported total IAS- unconsolidated assets of KZT9.1 billion (US$58.8 million) as of 31 December 2002. [2003-05-20]