Standard&Poor's Rating Services' ratings on Guatemala-based Banco G&T Continental S.A. are limited by the bank's relatively low adjusted capitalization and some double leverage, structural asset concentrations with low coverage of nonperforming assets (NPAs), and dollarized loans on the balance sheet. However, the ratings also reflect the bank's good market position in Guatemala, stable and diversified deposit base, and improving financial performance. Although the bank has taken some steps to strengthen its adjusted capitalization, this remains an area of weakness. As of June 30, 2009, the bank's adjusted total equity-to-assets ratio was close to 6%--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 improvement
