S&P присвоило Банку развития Казахстана долгосрочный рейтинг "BB"

/REUTERS, Лондон 23.07.02/ - Международное рейтинговое агентство Standard & Poor's присвоило государственному Банку развития Казахстана долгосрочный кредитный рейтинг "BB" и краткосрочный "B", говорится в сообщении агентства. Рейтинги отражают роль банка, который может рассчитывать на безусловную поддержку со стороны основного собственника - государства - и является важным инструментом национальной финансовой политики, говорится в сообщении агентства. Ниже следует текст сообщения Standard & Poor's на английском языке: LONDON, July 23 - Standard & Poor's said today it assigned its double-'B' long- term and 'B' short-term counterparty credit ratings to the Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK). The outlook is stable. "The ratings on DBK reflect the bank's clearly defined public policy role for the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan (local currency: BB+/Positive/B; foreign currency: BB/Positive/B) and 100% public sector ownership, which ensure strong implicit state support," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Luc Marchand. "DBK's conservative leverage policies, and the lack of alternative domestic suppliers of long-term credit to the Kazakh economy also support the ratings." DBK is a development bank that was set up in May 2001 as the Kazakh government's primary vehicle for promoting economic development and exports in the non-extracting sectors of the Kazakh economy. These sectors have so far been much less attractive to foreign and domestic investment than the country's successful oil and gas sector. The government is maintaining a distant relationship with DBK and does not guarantee the bank's obligations, although it capitalized the bank well, relative to the size of its expected business. The government is also closely involved in defining DBK's strategy and controls the bank, which is not subject to the National Bank of Kazakhstan's supervision, through the council of directors. The council is currently headed by the vice minister of finance, Arman Dunaev. In view of the substantial development needs in Kazakhstan's infrastructure and manufacturing sector, DBK has a vital role to play for many years to come. Total assets amounted to Kazakhstan tenge (KZT) 24.8 billion ($164.3 million) at year- end 2001, still mainly reflecting the bank's equity capital. Loan commitments have been slowly built up since the inception of the bank, and, at mid-2002, DBK had a small portfolio of approved project loans, with a total project volume close to $70 million. The bank is expected to grow its loan portfolio prudently in a high-risk market environment. Reflecting its public policy role, DBK's profitability is expected to remain relatively modest. The bank's leverage ratios are conservative. Although the DBK's Memorandum on Credit Policy limits total debt to 600% of the bank's capital, management policies have capped the bank's leverage at a debt-to-capital ratio of 100% for the first two years. The outlook balances DBK's position as a government-owned development bank with the need to build a track record of prudent lending and balance sheet growth in a difficult business and policy environment. "Standard & Poor's expects the bank to play a key policy role in the government's development plans over the foreseeable future, as capital markets in Kazakhstan are still relatively underdeveloped, and low intermediation levels suggest that the banking sector will not be a major supplier of long-term financing to the developing Kazakh economy," said Mr. Marchand. "A deviation from management's stated intention of prudent lending and loan growth would likely result in downward pressure on the ratings." [2002-07-23]