Fitch Ratings: Positive Rating Watch For BoE Bank Limited.Business Editors JOHANNESBURG/LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2002 Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. has revised its national rating for BoE Bank 'BoE' from Rating Watch Negative to Rating Watch Positive. The national Short- and Long-term Ratings remain 'F1 (zaf)' and 'A-' (minus) (zaf) respectively whilst the Support Rating is '4'. This follows a joint announcement by BoE and Nedcor in which Nedcor has made an offer to acquired BoE Holdings, the bank's holding company for ZAR ZAR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the South African Rand. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 7.3 bln. This offer, which is still subject to approval from regulatory and competition authorities, is to be financed through a combination of debt, internal cash flows and the issue of new shares. This deal comes after BoE had faced significant liquidity pressure following the demise of two small banks at the beginning of the year that necessitated the support of the National Treasury and South African Reserve Bank The South African Reserve Bank is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920," as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial conditions which World War I had brought. in the form of an explicit government guarantee. Fitch fitch: see polecat. believes that this deal will provide BoE with a more certain future. While the final structure of the business is unclear, synergies exist which together with benefits of the greater critical mass from the Nedcor Group will enhance overall competitiveness. From Nedcor's perspective, Fitch will be discussing with management the potential integration risks and impact this transaction will have on capital adequacy and asset quality. At year-end Nedcor's capital adequacy was 11.4%, which is low considering the potential volatility that exists in South Africa South Africa, Afrikaans Suid-Afrika, officially Republic of South Africa, republic (2005 est. pop. 44,344,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. . Note to Editors: Fitch's national ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness Creditworthiness The condition in which the risk of default on a debt obligation by that entity is deemed low. Creditworthiness Eligibility of an individual or firm to borrow money. for rated entities in countries where the sovereign's foreign and local currency ratings are below 'AAA'. National ratings are not internationally comparable since the best relative risk within a country is rated 'AAA' and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. They are signified sig·ni·fied n. Linguistics The concept that a signifier denotes. [Translation of French signifié, past participle of signifier, to signify.] Noun 1. by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as 'AAA (zaf)' for national ratings in South Africa. |
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