Fitch: Rating Additions & Withdrawals for Select Banks

Business Wire, July 7, 2005

CHICAGO -- Fitch Ratings has taken rating actions for select issuers rated by Fitch. The actions include: assignment of ratings to issues and issuers of subsidiaries rated by Fitch, assignment of ratings for entities formed by the mergers of subsidiaries previously rated by Fitch, and the withdrawal of ratings for entities that have been merged into other entities rated by Fitch as companies seek to simplify their legal entity structures. A list of these rating actions can be found at the end of this release. The actions are being assigned to provide users of Fitch's ratings with a comprehensive and accurate set of issue and issuer level ratings for all companies that Fitch rates. It is Fitch's intention to rate all debt securities issued by the firms that it rates. Further details on these ratings and other ratings assigned by Fitch are available on the Fitch Ratings web site at www.fitchratings.com.

The following ratings are withdrawn by Fitch and relate to the simplification of Citigroup's legal entity structure:

Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Inc.

-- Long-term issuer 'AA+';

-- Short-term issuer 'F1+';

-- Individual 'B';

-- Support '1'.

Citibank (West) Holdings Inc.

-- Senior unsecured 'AA+'.

-- Individual 'A';

-- Support '1'.

Citibank (West) Bancorp Inc.

-- Senior unsecured 'AA+'.

-- Individual 'A';

-- Support '1'.

Avco Financial Services, Inc.

-- Senior unsecured 'AA+'.

Bremer Bank, Minot (ND), N.A.

Bremer Bank, Moorehead (MN), N.A.

-- Long-term deposits 'BBB+';

-- Long-term senior debt 'BBB';

-- Short-term senior debt 'F2';

-- Short-term deposits 'F2';

-- Individual 'B/C';

-- Support '5'

The rating actions for Bremer reflect the merger of these two banks into a newly created bank, Bremer Bank, Fargo, (ND), N.A. The ratings for the new bank are listed below.

The following new ratings are assigned by Fitch with the preferred ratings subsidiaries of Northern Trust Corporation and Investors Financial Services Corp., respectively:

NTC Capital I

NTC Capital II

-- Preferred stock 'A+'.

Investors Capital Trust I

-- Preferred stock 'A-'.

The rating action reflects the merger of two banks (see above) into this newly created bank:

Bremer Bank, Fargo (ND), N.A.

-- Long-term deposits 'BBB+';

-- Long-term senior debt 'BBB';

-- Short-term senior debt 'F2';

-- Short-term deposits 'F2';

-- Individual 'B/C';

-- Support '5'

Fitch's rating definitions are available on the agency's public web site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies and relevant policies and procedures are also available from this site, at all times. This document will remain on the public site for seven days.