SANTIAGO, Chile, May 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Banco Santander Santiago announced today that its credit ratings were modified by Moody's Investor Services on May 25, 2006, following the publication of Moody's revised country ceiling policy on May 24. The Bank's ratings are as follows:
* Foreign currency senior debt rating: Remains at A2 and was placed on
review for possible upgrade.
* Subordinated debt rating: Raised from A3 to A2, as a result of the
upgrade of Chile's country ceiling for bonds to A2 from Baa1. Outlook
Stable.
* Deposit rating: Baa1 and Outlook Positive. Moody's new policy did not
affect the deposit ratings and hence, the Bank's Baa1 deposit rating
remains on review for possible upgrade in line with the deposit ceiling.
* Bank Financial strength Rating (BFSR): Remains at B-. As stated by
Moody's "this is the highest assigned to any Latin American bank. It
reflects the Bank's strong intrinsic strength derived from its dominant
franchise, management depth and access to the Santander Central
Hispano's network. It also reflects the Bank's superior fundamentals
when compared to domestic and regional peers, as well as Chile's
relatively stable operating and regulatory environment."
INSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND
As per latest public records published by the Superintendency of Banks for March 2006, Banco Santander Santiago was the largest bank in Chile in terms of loans and deposits. The Bank has the highest credit ratings among all non-publicly owned Latin American companies with an A rating from Standard and Poor's, A by Fitch and a Baa1 rating from Moody's, which are the same ratings assigned to the Republic of Chile. The company's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Santiago Stock Exchange (SSE: Bsantander). The Bank's main shareholder is Banco Santander Central Hispano, S.A., which directly and indirectly owns 83.94% of Banco Santander Santiago.
BANCO SANTANDER CENTRAL HISPANO
Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) Is the largest bank in the Euro Zone by market capitalization and one of the largest worldwide. Founded in 1857, Santander has euro 815,000 million in assets and euro 975,000 million in managed funds, 66 million customers, 10,300 offices and a presence in 40 countries. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America, and is a major player elsewhere in Europe, including the United Kingdom through its Abbey subsidiary and Portugal, where it is the third largest banking group. Through Santander Consumer, it also operates a leading consumer finance franchise in Germany, Italy, Spain and nine other European countries. In the first quarter of 2006, Santander recorded euro 1,493 million in net attributable profits, 26% more than in the same period of the previous year.
In Latin America, Santander manages over US$200 billion in business volumes (loans, deposits, mutual funds and pension funds) through 4,170 offices. In the first quarter of 2006, Santander recorded US$743 million in net attributable income in Latin America, 35% higher than in the prior year.
