ABSA Bank Ltd.'s public information ('pi') rating on its long-term local currency-denominated obligations is based on the bank's strong position in the South African market and its satisfactory levels of profitability and liquidity. Capitalization is adequate, while asset quality slightly deteriorated in the year 2000. Although the South African banking sector is well developed and benefits from good regulatory and legal frameworks, it continues to be constrained by economic and social challenges. With an approximate 23% market share of advances and customer deposits ABSA is one of the largest of the four banking groups dominating the South African banking sector. An already strong position in the retail banking sector was improved with the purchase of the specialist micro-lender Unifer in
