Moody's присвоило рейтинги "Ваа2"/Prime-3" евробондам Казкоммерцбанка

/REUTERS, 26.10.05/ - Международное рейтинговое агентство Moody's Investors Service присвоило долгосрочный рейтинг "Ваа2" и краткосрочный рейтинг "Prime-3" программе Казкммерцбанка по выпуску еврооблигаций на сумму $1,5 миллиарда, говорится в сообщении агентства. Прогноз изменения рейтингов - стабильный. Срок обращения, который может варьироваться от одного месяца до 30 лет, а также цена облигаций будут определяться индивидуально для каждого транша. Ниже приводится полный текст сообщения агентства Moody's Investors Service на английском языке. MOODY'S RATES KAZKOMMERTS INTERNATIONAL B.V. (The following statement was released by the rating agency) Oct 26 - Moody's Investors Service has assigned a long-term rating of Baa2 and short-term rating of Prime-3 (stable outlook) to the US$1.5 billion Guaranteed Debt Issuance Programme of Kazkommerts International B.V. The Notes and the Guarantee will be unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by JSC Kazkommertsbank (Kazakhstan) ["Kazkommertsbank"] and will represent unsubordinated and unsecured obligations of the Issuer and the Guarantor. The tenor, which may vary from one month to 30 years, and the price of the notes will be defined individually for each tranche. The outlook for the ratings is stable. The first drawdown of long-term senior unsecured notes has been rated Baa2 (stable) in line with the Programme's rating. The size of the drawdown has yet to be determined while its tenor will be up to 10 years. Moody's also notes that according to the terms of the programme Kazkommerts International B.V. and Kazkommertsbank will have to comply with a number of covenants such as a negative pledge and a limitation on certain transactions. Kazkommertsbank will also have to comply with limitation on payment of dividends. The rating of Kazkommertsbank's senior unsecured debt has pierced Kazakhstan's sovereign ceiling for bonds of Baa3. The level of the rating reflects the vital role the bank plays in the country's economy. Moody's notes that the likelihood of Kazkommertsbank receiving support from the government in case of distress is very high and is the primary driver of the ratings. The ratings also take into account the fact that Kazkommertsbank is the largest bank in Kazakhstan, and over a relatively short period has been able to develop an important franchise in the domestic, corporate and retail market. At the same time, Moody's will be closely monitoring the bank's refinancing risk, which under unfavourable market conditions could result in a liquidity strain, and which has grown considerably over the last few years as the bank tapped international capital markets with a number of sizeable issues some of which mature in the same year. Higher dependence on market funding has increased such refinancing risk and is placing negative pressure on the bank's debt ratings. The rating also reflects the probability of a sovereign default implied by the Kazakh government's low investment-grade Baa3 (positive outlook) foreign currency bond rating, and the likelihood that the Kazakh government could impose a debt moratorium in the event of default on its own foreign currency obligations. At the same time Kazkommertsbank's foreign currency deposit rating of Ba1 (positive outlook) is constrained by the country ceiling for such deposits. The rating also addresses the risk that any such moratorium might include foreign currency bonds and that the bank's bonds might be particularly affected. Because the banking system is an arm of the government's monetary and foreign exchange policy, Moody's believes that, in general, banks may have a lower probability of having their bonds exempted from a moratorium than, say, a major exporter. The rating, therefore, indicates the joint probabilities of default that are contained in the foreign currency ceiling and in the local currency rating of individual issuers. A discussion of the rationale behind these credit evaluations is detailed in Moody's report "Emerging Market Bank Ratings in Local and Foreign Currency: The Implications of Country Risk and Institutional Support," and in Moody's rating methodology "Piercing the Country Ceiling: An Update." Moody's also notes that the prospectus provides for issuance of fixed rate notes, floating rate notes, zero coupon notes, index-linked interest notes, and dual currency notes. Such notes, and any other with similar characteristics, would have to be rated case-by-case, and any ratings assigned would refer only to the credit risk involved and would not take into account the market risk or any other risks inherent to these types of instruments. Kazkommertsbank is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and reported under IFRS total consolidated assets of KZT 789 billion (US$ 5.8 billion) as of 30 June 2005. Kazkommerts International B.V. is domiciled in the Netherlands. [2005-10-27]