TOKYO (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 16, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today assigned its 'BBB+' rating to Woori Bank's (Woori; BBB+/Stable/A-2) proposed US$500 million senior unsecured fixed rate notes to be priced and drawn down from its US$4 billion global MTN program. In view of the typical convergence of risks that occur among subsidiaries of a common holding company, the ratings on Woori take into consideration the collective credit profiles of Woori Financial Group (WFG), which includes Woori Finance Holdings Co. Ltd. (WFH; BBB/Stable/A-2) and other subsidiaries. "A supporting factor for the ratings on Woori is WFG's possession of the third-largest banking branch network among Korea's commercial banking groups. This market coverage helps it maintain a relatively high net interest
