Fitch Takes Actions on National Scale Ratings in Latin America

Business Wire, Jan 31, 2005

CHICAGO -- During the week of Jan. 24-28, 2005, Fitch Ratings changed the following ratings on the national scale in Latin America:

Corporates:

Urbi Desarrollos Urbanos, S.A. de C.V. (Mexico)

-- MXP1,000,000,000 certificates assigned 'A (mex)'.

Camuzzi Gas Pampeana (Argentina)

-- ARP300,000,000 debt issuance program assigned 'BBB(arg)'.

Financial institutions:

Tarjetas Cuyanas (Argentina)

-- ARP25,000,000 short-term issuance assigned 'A2(arg)'.

Arrendadora Agil, S.A. de C.V. (Mexico)

-- New national scale long-term rating of 'A (mex)' assigned.

-- New national scale short-term rating of 'F1(mex)' assigned.

Banco Nacional de Mexico (BANAMEX) (Mexico)

-- Certificados Bursatiles MXP29,959,900,000 repackaging of notes issued by Instituto para la Proteccion al Ahorro Bancario (IPAB), assigned 'AAA(mex)'.

Banco de Comercio (El Salvador)

-- Issuer rating of 'AA-(slv)'; Rating Outlook revised to Positive from Stable.

Scotiabank El Salvador (El Salvador)

-- Issuer rating of 'AA-(slv)'; Rating Outlook revised to Positive from Stable.

Banco Hipotecario (El Salvador)

-- Issuer rating of 'BBB(slv)'; Rating Outlook revised to Stable from Negative.

Banco de America Central (El Salvador)

-- Issuer rating of 'A (slv); Rating Outlook revised to Positive from Stable.

Banco Procredit (El Salvador)

-- Issuer rating of 'A-(slv)'; Rating Outlook revised to Positive from Stable.

Banco Industrial (Guatemala)

-- National scale long-term rating of 'A(gtm)' assigned.

Grupo Financiero Cuscatlan (Guatemala)

-- National scale long-term rating of 'A-(gtm)' assigned.

Banco de America Central (Honduras)

-- National scale long-term rating of 'A(hnd)' assigned.

Insurance:

Aseguradora Popular, S.A. (El Salvador)

-- Issuer rating downgraded to 'BBB-(slv)' from 'BBB(slv)'.

BBVA Seguros, S.A. Seguros de Personas (El Salvador)

-- Issuer rating downgraded to 'A (slv)' from 'AA-(slv)'; assigned Rating Outlook Negative.

Compania General de Seguros, S.A. y Filial (El Salvador)

-- Issuer rating of 'AA-(slv)'; Rating Outlook revised to Stable from Positive.

Structured finance:

Secubono VII (Argentina)

-- Certificados de participacion clase A ARP20,882,566 securitization of consumer loans assigned 'AAA(arg)'.

Certificados de participacion clase B ARP1,761,180 securitization of consumer loans assigned 'AA-(arg)'.

Banchile Securitizadora (Chile)

-- Banchile Securitizadora Part 2B1 CLP/UF1,510,000 and Part 2B2 CLP/UF379,000 downgraded to 'BBB (chl)' from 'AA(chl)'; the Rating Watch Negative was removed.

National ratings are an assessment of credit quality relative to the rating of the 'best' credit risk in a country. This best risk will normally, although not always, be assigned to all financial commitments issued or guaranteed by the sovereign state. Therefore, a given national scale rating implies a different level of risk compared with the same international scale rating.

Additional information on these rating actions is available on the following web sites:

Fitch Ratings www.fitchratings.com

Fitch Argentina www.fitchratings.com.ar

Fitch Bolivia www.fitchratings.com.bo

Fitch Brazil www.fitchratings.com.br

Fitch Central America www.fitchca.com

Fitch Chile www.fitchratings.cl

Fitch Dominican Republic www.fitchdominicana.com

Fitch Mexico www.fitchmexico.com

Fitch Venezuela www.fitchvenezuela.com