NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's CreditWire) July 17, 2001--Standard & Poor's today assigned its single-'B' long-term and short-term counterparty credit and single-'B' CD ratings to National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB). The outlook is positive. The ratings on NCB are underpinned by the bank's relevant market presence in the Jamaican banking system and the support it received from the Jamaican government to restore its financial condition and weather the problems resulting from the banking crisis. The ratings are constrained by various factors, including uncertainty about NCB's future ownership, the still-short record of structural changes to improve its financial profile, the important liquidity burden related to FINSAC bonds, and the modest growth prospects for both the bank and the Jamaican economy.
