On Jan. 11, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'BB-/B' foreign currency, counterparty, and CD ratings on Banco G&T Continental S.A. (G&T Continental). The outlook is stable. At the same time, we affirmed our 'BBB-' survivability assessment on the bank. The affirmation is the result of improvements in capitalization that are in tandem with our expectations. In addition, we expect improvements in risk management capabilities to pay off, as the bank ventures into the retail market. The affirmation on our survivability assessment follows the bank's gains on market share and the Guatemalan banking system's ongoing consolidation process; G&T Continental has benefited from it. Low adjusted capitalization, debt at the holding company level, low profitability, structural asset concentrations, and
