Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on Bank of East Asia Ltd. (BEA, BBB+/Stable/A-2) will not be affected by the bank's announcement of an 18% drop in net profit before minority interests for the year ended December 2002, to Hong Kong dollar 1.31 billion (US$168 million). The reduced figure, while disappointing, was not wholly unexpected after the bank reported a 21% year-on-year fall for the first half of the year. BEA was compelled to increase its loan loss provision expenses on a year-on-year basis in both halves of 2002 to meet higher levels of problematic consumer and credit card loans. Standard&Poor's will be looking for a greater degree of success in BEA's efforts to
