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Rating Action:

Moody's takes action on five Tunisian banks' ratings

21 Jan 2011

Actions reflect Moody's downgrade of sovereign rating and possible weakening of the economy

Paris, January 21, 2011 -- Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded the global local currency (GLC) and foreign currency (FC) deposit ratings of five Tunisian banks: Societe Tunisienne de Banque to Ba1/Not Prime from Baa3/Prime-3; Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie to Baa3/Prime-3 from Baa2/Prime-2; Banque de Tunisie to Baa3/Prime-3 from Baa2/Prime-2; Arab Tunisian Bank to Baa3/Prime-3 from Baa2/Prime-2; and Amen Bank to Ba1/Not Prime from Baa3/Prime-3. These deposit ratings remain under review for possible downgrade. In addition, the standalone financial strength rating (BFSRs) of each bank has been placed under review for potential downgrade. The full list of affected ratings can be found below.

Today's downgrades follow Moody's decision on the 19th of January to lower Tunisia's government bond rating to Baa3 with a negative outlook. The rating reviews reflect concerns about the potential impact of the social and political unrest on the economy and, ultimately, credit conditions.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Today's one-notch downgrade of Tunisian banks' deposit ratings is driven by our reassessment of the country's capacity to support its banking system, following the lowering of the government's ratings. Under Moody's methodology, a government's credit strength serves as a key input in assigning the country's systemic support indicator (SSI). The latter measures the capacity of a country to support its banking system which, in turn, can provide uplift to the deposit and debt ratings of a bank.

As a result of the sovereign downgrade, Tunisia's SSI has been lowered to Baa2 from A3, which is one notch above the new government rating instead of two notches previously. This repositioning of the SSI has meant a reduction in the uplift imbedded in the deposit ratings of the five banks, causing the one notch downgrade announced today .

Tunisian banks' standalone and deposit ratings have been placed under review for possible downgrade to assess the potential impact of political and social instability on the bank's finances given the likely deterioration in the country's economic conditions. Moody's is concerned that, if not resolved quickly, the current period of political uncertainty could negatively impact foreign direct investment flows into the country and disrupt economic activity, weakening the performance of the main economic sectors such as tourism, exports, textiles and real estate. Moody's notes that the performance of the banks' credit portfolios, which are essentially domestic and concentrated, will likely reflect the weakening macroeconomic environment; asset quality deterioration will force banks to raise loan loss provisioning, further weighing on Tunisian banks' already weak economic capital position and driving financial performance down. The review will also assess the possible impact of changes in the political landscape on the business franchise of banks with linkages with the previous regime.

RATING ACTIONS

The following rating actions were taken:

i) Société Tunisienne de Banque: the bank's GLC and FC deposit ratings were downgraded to Ba1/Not Prime from Baa3/Prime-3. The bank's E+ BFSR (mapping to a BCA of B2) remains unchanged. The bank's deposit ratings and BCA are on review for possible downgrade. The outlook on its BFSR is stable.

ii) Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie: the bank's GLC and FC deposit ratings were downgraded to Baa3/Prime-3 from Baa2/Prime-2. The bank's D BFSR (mapping to a BCA of Ba2) remains unchanged. All ratings are on review for possible downgrade.

iii) Banque de Tunisie: the bank's GLC and FC deposit ratings were downgraded to Baa3/Prime-3 from Baa2/Prime-2. The bank's D+ BFSR (mapping to a BCA of Ba1) remains unchanged. All ratings are on review for possible downgrade.

iv) Arab Tunisian Bank: the bank's GLC and FC deposit ratings were downgraded to Baa3/Prime-3 from Baa2/Prime-2. The bank's D BFSR (mapping to a BCA of Ba2) remains unchanged. All ratings are on review for possible downgrade.

v) Amen Bank: the bank's GLC and FC deposit ratings were downgraded to Ba1/Not Prime from Baa3/Prime-3. The bank's D- BFSR (mapping to a BCA of Ba3) remains unchanged. All ratings are on review for possible downgrade.

PREVIOUS RATING ACTIONS & PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGIES

The last rating actions on the five rated Tunisian banks were as follows:

i) On 30 December 2009, Société Tunisienne de Banque's GLC and FC deposit ratings were downgraded to Baa3/Prime-3 from Baa2/Prime-2. These ratings were no longer on review, and the outlook was revised to stable. The bank's E+ BFSR (mapping to a BCA of B2) remained unchanged with a stable outlook.

ii) On 30 December 2009, Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie's GLC deposit ratings were downgraded to Baa2/Prime-2 from Baa1/Prime-2. The bank's Baa2/Prime-2 FC deposit ratings remained unchanged. These ratings were no longer on review, and the outlook was revised to stable. The bank's D BFSR (mapping to a BCA of Ba2) remained unchanged with a stable outlook.

iii) On 30 December 2009, Banque de Tunisie's GLC deposit ratings were downgraded to Baa2/Prime-2 from Baa1/Prime-2. The bank's Baa2/Prime-2 FC deposit ratings remained unchanged. These ratings were no longer on review, and the outlook was revised to stable. The bank's D+ BFSR (mapping to a BCA of Ba1) remained unchanged with a stable outlook.

iv) On 30 December 2009, Arab Tunisian Bank's Baa2/Prime-2 GLC and FC deposit ratings were affirmed with a stable outlook.

v) On 30 December 2009, Amen Bank's global local currency (GLC) and foreign currency (FC) deposit ratings were downgraded to Baa3/Prime-3 from Baa2/Prime-2. These ratings were no longer on review, and the outlook was revised to stable. The bank's D- BFSR (mapping to a Ba3 BCA) remained unchanged with a stable outlook.

The principal methodologies used in this rating were "Bank Financial Strength Ratings: Global Methodology" published in February 2007, and "Incorporation of Joint-Default Analysis into Moody's Bank Ratings: A Refined Methodology" published in March 2007.

Société Tunisienne de Banque, headquartered in Tunis, had assets of TND6.62 billion (USD4.65 billion) as of 30 June 2010.

Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie, headquartered in Tunis, had assets of TND6.33 billion (USD4.45 billion) as of 30 June 2010.

Banque de Tunisie, headquartered in Tunis, had assets of TND2.87 billion (USD2.02billion) as of 30 June 2010.

Arab Tunisian Bank, headquartered in Tunis, had assets of TND3.70 billion (USD2.60) as of 30 of June 2010.

Amen Bank, headquartered in Tunis, had assets of TND4.62 billion (USD3.25 billion) as of 30 June 2010.

REGULATORY DISCLOSURES

Information sources used to prepare the credit rating are the following: parties involved in the ratings, parties not involved in the ratings, public information, confidential and proprietary Moody's Investors Service information.

Moody's Investors Service considers the quality of information available on the issuer or obligation satisfactory for the purposes of maintaining a credit rating.

Moody's Investors Service may have provided Ancillary or Other Permissible Service(s) to the rated entity or its related third parties within the three years preceding the Credit Rating Action. Please see the ratings disclosure page www.moodys.com/disclosures on our website for further information.

Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it uses in assigning a credit rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent third-party sources. However, Moody's is not an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate information received in the rating process.

Please see ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on Moodys.com for the last rating action and the rating history.

The date on which some Credit Ratings were first released goes back to a time before Moody's Investors Service's Credit Ratings were fully digitized and accurate data may not be available. Consequently, Moody's Investors Service provides a date that it believes is the most reliable and accurate based on the information that is available to it. Please see the ratings disclosure page on our website www.moodys.com for further information.

Please see the Credit Policy page on Moodys.com for the methodologies used in determining ratings, further information on the meaning of each rating category and the definition of default and recovery.

Paris
Anouar Hassoune
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's France SAS
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454

London
Yves Lemay
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service Ltd.
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454

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Moody's takes action on five Tunisian banks' ratings
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