Banco Comercial Portugues Makes Announcement.

LISBON, Portugal--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 1999--

Banco Comercial Portugues, S.A. (BCP, NYSE: BPC, BCPPRA) announced today that Thomson Financial BankWatch has issued a Rating Upgrade for the Senior Debt of Banco Comercial Portugues (BCP) and Banco Portugues do Atlantico (Atlantico) from A+ to AA-.

Thomson Financial BankWatch has also upgraded the Senior Debt of Banco Cisf from A to A+ and affirmed the short-term rating of BCP, Atlantico and Banco Cisf at TBW-1.

According to the ratings agency, it has issued the above ratings "in recognition of Banco Comercial Portugues Group's strong earnings performance and sound asset quality indicators. In addition, the Group's capital base has undergone a noticeable change from twelve months ago, which has considerably strengthened the Group's capital mix and ratios (Tier 1 ratio at December 1998: 9.3%)."

In its report, Thomson Financial BankWatch adds that: "the Group's strategy continues to focus on deepening its relationship with its client base and further developing its cross-selling techniques. Abroad, BCP has followed a limited and focused strategy, with all foreign ventures done in conjunction with a local partner, the most recent foray being its retail banking joint venture in Poland, a market developing in a similar way to that of Portugal, with Big Bank GDANSKI."

The agency ends its report: "Further consolidation is a strong possibility in Portugal, especially after the recent consummation of the merger between Banco Santander (BS) and Banco Central Hispanoamericano (BCH) in Spain. BCP's largest single shareholder is the former BCH, which could potentially be a strong positive influence for BCP in how the Group operates in the new "Euroland". In Portugal, BCP is very much viewed as a potential acquirer in this coming process."