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TEXT-S&P Report: Divergent Trends In Asia-Pacific Banks' Risk

(The following was released by the rating agency)

MELBOURNE (Standard & Poor's) Oct. 10, 2012--Divergenttrends have emerged in recent years across Asia-Pacific bankingsystems on three important inter-related factors: private sectordebt, house prices, and funding. That's a key finding of a newreport, titled "Divergent Trends In Banking System Risks EmergeAcross Asia Pacific", that provides an update on the bankingsystem risks in the 18 Asia-Pacific countries analysed byStandard & Poor's Ratings Services.

"On one hand, some of the region's larger emerging economiesare showing an increase in personal demand for credit and otherbanking products," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst SharadJain, in the report. "On the other hand, some of the matureeconomies are showing signs of a credit-growth slowdown, some ofthem are even deleveraging--particularly after the globalfinancial crisis in 2008. Additionally, in some countries, aslowdown in credit growth has been accompanied by increasingfunding support from depositors, thereby reducing need foroffshore borrowings."

These factors form a key part of Standard & Poor'sassessment of banking system risks, including our BankingIndustry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) scores for eachcountry. We expect that potential for changes in our BICRAscores on banking systems in Asia-Pacific to be varied,reflecting the divergent trends in these important factors.

The report is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect onthe Global Credit Portal at . If youare not a RatingsDirect subscriber, you may purchase a copy ofthe report by calling (1) 212-438-7280 or sending an e-mail toresearch_request@standardandpoors.com. Ratings information canalso be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site by using theRatings search box located in the left column at. Members of the media may request acopy of this report by contacting the media representativeprovided. RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH

-- Global Banking Faces Economic Risks In The Eurozone, TheU.S., And China, Oct. 4, 2012

-- Buffeted By Recession, The Gap Between Western Europe'sCore And Peripheral Banking Systems Widens, Oct. 4, 2012

-- Banking Industry Country Risk Assessments Update: October2012, Oct. 2, 2012

-- Banking Industry Country Risk AssessmentMethodology And Assumptions," published Nov. 9, 2011

Keywords: MARKETS RATINGS ASIAPACIFICBANKS