Strong franchise as the second-largest commercial bank in Thailand. Expected government support due to the bank's systemic importance. Moderate capitalization. Evolving risk management practices. The rating outlook on Krung Thai Bank Public Co. Ltd. (KTB) is stable, reflecting our expectation that the bank is likely to maintain its financial profile over the next 12-24 months. We could lower the rating if KTB's asset quality weakens materially. Alternatively, we could upgrade the bank if its pre-diversification risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio improves to above 7% on a sustained basis. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services bases its rating on KTB on the bank's "adequate" business position, "moderate" capital and earnings, "adequate" risk position, "average" funding, "adequate" liquidity, as defined under our criteria. The
