(Source: Info-Prod Research (Middle East))Moody's Latin America assigned an Aa3.boNational Scale debt rating to the second issuance of US$ 10 million underBanco Nacional de Bolivia's US$ 20 million subordinated debt program, due in 2014. At the same time, Moody's Investors Service assigned a B2 global foreign-currency subordinated debt rating to this second issuance. The outlook on the ratings is stable. Moody's noted that subordination was taken into consideration in the assignment of the debt rating. Subordinated debt is usually rated one notch below the global local currency senior rating. However since this debt is issued in foreign currency, it is capped by Moody's B2 Bolivian country ceiling for foreign currency debt. Moody's National Scale ratings are intended primarily for use by Bolivian domestic investors, and they are not comparable to Moody's globally applicable ratings, which do not carry the ".bo" notation. An Aa.bo rating on Moody's Bolivia National Scale indicates an issuer or issue with a very strong creditworthiness and a low likelihood of credit loss, relative to other domestic issuers. Banco Nacional de Bolivia is headquartered in La Paz, Bolivia, and had assets of Bs. 7.7 billion and deposits of Bs. 6.9 billion as of June 30, 2008.

Originally published by Info-Prod Strategic Business Information.

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