S&P Completes Acq of Majority Stake in EA-Ratings.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 2002

Standard & Poor's today announced that it has completed its purchase of a majority stake of its affiliate, EA-Ratings, the first independent Russian credit rating firm.

"Our purchase of a majority stake in EA-Ratings reflects our global commitment to expansion in key markets, as well as our long-term commitment to Russia," said Vickie Tillman, Executive Vice President of Standard & Poor's, who was in Moscow for the closing. "We are encouraged by Russia's return to global markets which began late last year and signs of continuing improvement in the country's investment climate."

The purchase agreement was signed between Standard & Poor's and the Institute for Urban Economics (IUE) on December 12, 2001. The renamed company will be Standard & Poor's EA-Ratings. The purchase follows three years of affiliation and an intensive marketing and analytical integration with Standard & Poor's.

Nadezhda B. Kosareva, President of the IUE, said: "The Institute for Urban Economics viewed the creation of a credit rating agency as both an intellectual test of a business idea and the development of a new service that the Russian market was not yet ready to develop on its own. EA-Ratings success has reflected a highly realistic business plan and the strong determination of the people involved to succeed in a difficult environment."

With the EA-Ratings purchase, Standard & Poor's has also launched an entirely new service, Standard & Poor's Russia National Credit Ratings. Tailored to meet the specific needs of local and foreign participants in Russia's capital and money markets, a new scale -- Standard & Poor's Russia National Credit Rating Scale -- offers much finer distinctions in credit quality than have previously existed in Russia. The result of an intense joint effort of Standard & Poor's and EA-Ratings analysts over many months, the Russia National Scale's introduction is particularly timely in view of the rapid growth of Russia's domestic markets. As of today, three Russia National Scale ratings have been published (city of Cherepovets, OMZ and JSC Koncern Kalina), and more are expected to be assigned in the near future.

"This important step enables Standard & Poor's to significantly enhance its services to clients in Russia's domestic market by combining extensive global experience and practical on-the-ground know-how and understanding," said Cynthia Stone, Standard & Poor's Managing Director for Russia and other CIS countries.

Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's is a leading global provider of independent financial information, analytical services, and credit ratings to the international financial markets. With offices in 18 countries, Standard & Poor's has a global staff of over 5,000 employees, including more than 1,500 analysts. To enhance services to investors, intermediaries and issuers in the Russian market, Standard & Poor's opened its representative office in Moscow in 1998 and in the same year entered into a strategic affiliation with the leading Russian credit rating firm, EA-Ratings. Reflecting its long-term commitment to Russia, Standard & Poor's is continuously developing new services tailored to local market needs. The most recent additions to Standard & Poor's services in Russia include Corporate Governance Scores, first introduced in late 2000, and Standard & Poor's Russia National Credit Ratings, launched in December 2001.

The Institute for Urban Economics (IUE)

The Institute for Urban Economics is a non-governmental, nonprofit organization, established in Moscow in 1995. It was created to identify, analyze and promote solutions to the social and economic problems of urban areas. The main goals of the institute include the development and introduction of new approaches to housing problems; housing and municipal infrastructure finance; municipal management; urban land use; a municipal social safety net; and other issues of social and economic development of urban areas.

S&P EA-Ratings

Standard & Poor's EA Ratings is the leading Russian independent provider of credit analysis, providing professional and objective credit risk analysis and ratings in Russia and other CIS countries. The company was founded as a private firm in July 1998 by the Institute for Urban Economics, a Moscow-based public policy organization and, in the same year, entered into a strategic affiliation with Standard & Poor's. Over the past three years, the two companies have worked in close cooperation to fully integrate their analytical and marketing activities. Standard & Poor's EA Ratings is the market leader in providing national scale credit ratings for Russia-based issuers and debt issues.

Detailed information about Standard & Poor's and S&P EA-Ratings, including a description of the new Standard & Poor's Russia National Credit Rating Scale, can be found on the Russian-language site at www.standardandpoors.ru.

Copyright 2002, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services