Fitch присвоило Российско-казахскому Евразийскому Банку Развития рейтинг "ВВВ+", прогноз - стабильный

/REUTERS, 08.11.06/ - Международное рейтинговое агентство Fitch Ratings присвоило совместному банку России и Казахстана - Евразийскому банку развития - рейтинг дефолта эмитента "BBB+" и краткосрочный рейтинг "F2". Прогноз - стабильный. Рейтинг основан на ожидании поддержки со стороны учредителей - России, имеющей рейтинг "ВВВ+" и Казахстана ("ВВВ"), - а также учитывает достаточную капитализацию и консервативный подход к управлению рисками, заявленный менеджментом банка, созданного для финансирования крупных инфраструктурных проектов. Ниже приводится оригинальный текст сообщения агентства Fitch Ratings. FITCH RATES EURASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK 'BBB+' Fitch Ratings-London/Paris/Moscow-08 November 2006: Fitch Ratings has today assigned the Eurasian Development Bank ("EDB") ratings of Issuer Default 'BBB+' and Short-term 'F2'. The Outlook is Stable. The ratings are based on the support from its two founding member countries, the Russian Federation ('BBB+') and the Republic of Kazakhstan ('BBB'). The ratings also take into account the conservative risk management guidelines set by EDB's management and the high capitalisation relative to the targeted size and risk of its loan portfolio. EDB's intrinsic credit quality will be eventually factored into the rating. EDB's mission is to finance large infrastructure projects in the Eurasian Economic Community ("EEC"), which includes Russian Federation, Republic of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan respectively own two- thirds and one-third of the bank's statutory capital, and are strongly committed to supporting EDB. Member countries have not subscribed to callable shares of the bank, which differentiates EDB from other multilateral development banks ("MDBs"). However, based on a comfort letter signed by the deputy finance ministers of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan, Fitch considers that these countries would support EDB in the event of need. Support may be channelled through the Russian Federation state-owned banks, in case of a liquidity crisis. More EEC countries are expected to participate in EDB's capital. The two founding members will be the main recipients of EDB's financing (with about two-thirds of total financing). The financing may take the form of long-term loans either to public or private entities, guarantees and equity participations. EDB finances only projects that are financially viable. It will not engage in financing social projects or in concessional lending. The bank expects its loan portfolio to reach USD3.5 billion by end-2009. Total assets, including the treasury portfolio, should amount to USD5.5bn then. EDB benefits from preferred creditor status on its loans. Of these assets 70% will be denominated in USD and will be backed by hard currency resources. Funding, which is expected to be predominantly long-term, should consist of loans from Western banks and of bond issues on the international and local markets. The bank's capitalisation is strong. EDB's authorised capital is USD1,500 million, out of which USD414m had been paid as of end-October 2006. The remaining payments are due to be made by shareholders by end 2008. Fitch expects the ratio of equity-to-total assets to stand at around 30% at end- 2009. EDB's liquidity is expected to remain high, with treasury assets accounting for at least 30% of total assets. EDB is not subject to banking regulation and has set conservative risk management guidelines regarding capital requirement, asset quality, loan concentration, liquidity and asset-liability management. An independent risk management department has been established. EDB is a MDB created in 2006 to foster the integration in the EEC region. It officially started its operations on 16 June 2006. It is headquartered in Almaty (the Republic of Kazakhstan) and had 49 staff as of October 2006. Contacts: Eric Paget-Blanc, Paris, Tel: + (33) 1 44 29 91 33; Dmitri Angarov, + (7) 495 956 9603. Media Relations: Francoise Alos, Paris, Tel: +33 1 44 29 91 22; Mayra Cunningham, London, Tel: +44 20 7417 3557 Alla Izmailova, Moscow, Tel: +7 495 956 9903 [2006-11-08]