TOKYO (Standard&Poor's) March 23, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the announcement by Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. (MTFG) of an alliance with ACOM Co. Ltd. (BBB+/Stable/A-2) would have no immediate impact on its ratings on MTFG's banking subsidiaries, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. (BBB+/Stable/A-2) and Mitsubishi Trust&Banking Corp. (BBB+/Stable/A-2). MTFG will acquire about 15% of ACOM's outstanding shares with voting rights through the capital and business tie-up with the company. Adding ACOM as an affiliate under the equity method is expected to have a limited direct impact on MTFG's profitability in the short term, as its 15% stake is small. Standard&Poor's ratings on ACOM are not affected by the tie-up (see media
