Standard&Poor's Rating Services' ratings on Banco G&T Continental S.A. (G&T Continental) are limited by the bank's relatively low adjusted capitalization and double leverage, structural asset concentrations with low coverage of NPAs, and a dollarized balance sheet. The ratings reflect the bank's good market position in Guatemala, as well as its stable and diversified deposit base and improving financial performance. While the bank has taken some steps to strengthen its adjusted capitalization, this remains an area of weakness. As of Dec. 31, 2008, the bank's adjusted total equity (ATE)-to-assets ratio was more than 7%--a figure we still consider low. The bank issued preferred shares that were acquired by International Finance Corp. (IFC; AAA/Stable/A-1+), which led to some significant improvement
