TEXT-S&P:Ratings assigned to NongHyup Bank's GMTN program

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)

Sept 10 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today assigned its ratings to NongHyup Bank's (A/Stable/A-1) US$8 billion global medium term note (GMTN) program. We assigned our: 'A' rating to the senior unsecured tranche of the program; 'A-' rating to the lower tier II subordinated tranche; and 'BB+' rating to the upper tier II subordinated tranche.

The rating differential between the senior unsecured notes and the lower tier II subordinated notes reflects the subordinated nature of the latter. The 'BB+' rating on the upper tier II subordinated notes is two notches below the bank's stand-alone credit profile reflecting their subordinated nature and the embedded interest deferral option on these notes, and we do not expect government support to cover such hybrid capital instruments. \

At the same time, we assigned our 'A' rating to the proposed U.S. dollar-denominated benchmark senior unsecured notes to be drawn down from the program. The rating on the unsecured debt is subject to final documentation.

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