TEXT - S&P raises CentroCredit Bank

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)

Overview
-- We believe CentroCredit Bank's capitalization has strengthened, partly
thanks to earnings retention and low growth.
-- Accordingly, we now assess the bank's capital as very strong instead
of strong and have revised our assessment of its stand-alone credit profile
upward to 'b' from 'b-'.
-- We are revising our ratings on CentroCredit Bank to 'B/B' from 'B-/C'
and the national scale rating to 'ruA-' from 'ruBBB-'.
-- The stable outlook reflects our opinion that CentroCredit Bank's
business and financial profiles will remain stable over the next 12-24 months.
We expect the bank to maintain very strong capitalization over the medium
term, supported by good internal profit generation.

Rating Action
On Nov. 19, 2012, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its long- and
short-term counterparty credit ratings on Russia-based CentroCredit Bank JSC
to 'B/B' from 'B-/C' and its national scale rating to 'ruA-' from 'ruBBB-'.
The outlook is stable.

Rationale
The upgrade reflects our view that CentroCredit Bank's risk-adjusted capital
(RAC) ratio, before adjustments for diversification, would remain comfortably
above 15% over the next 18 months, supported by good internal profit
generation and low growth. We understand the bank's shareholders do not plan
any capital injections in the medium term. The amount the bank pays in annual
dividends equals the amount of dividends it receives from investments.

CentroCredit Bank's earnings are volatile and dependent on the trading volume
and performance of major Russian stock indexes. About 60% of its operating
revenues came from market-sensitive income (mostly related to securities
holding and trading) during the first nine months of 2012 under Russian
accounting standards. The volume of securities trading and margins has been
declining over the past 18 months, reducing the bank's profit generation.
Nevertheless, in the first nine months of this year, CentroCredit Bank
achieved Russian ruble RUB2.6 billion (about $87 million) in profit under
Russian accounting standards.

Our ratings on CentroCredit Bank reflect its anchor of 'bb', as well as its
"weak" business position, "very strong" capital and earnings, "weak" risk
position, "below average" funding, and "moderate" liquidity, as our criteria
define these terms. The stand-alone credit profile is 'b'.

Outlook
The stable outlook reflects our opinion that CentroCredit Bank's business and
financial profiles will remain stable over the next 12-24 months. We expect
the bank to maintain very strong capitalization over the medium term,
supported by good internal profit generation.

We could raise the ratings if the bank reduced its reliance on
market-sensitive and volatile income and demonstrated better business
diversification. Development of a larger and more diverse depositor base would
be positive for the ratings.

We could lower the ratings if faster-than-expected growth or
lower-than-expected profitability put a strain on the bank's capitalization,
reducing our forecast RAC ratio before adjustments for diversification to
lower than 15%.

Ratings Score Snapshot
To From
Issuer Credit Rating B/Stable/B B-/Stable/C

SACP b b-
Anchor bb bb
Business Position Weak (-2) Weak (-2)
Capital and Earnings Very Strong (+2) Strong (+1)
Risk Position Weak (-2) Weak (-2)
Funding and Liquidity Below Average Below Average
and Moderate (-1) and Moderate (-1)

Support 0 0
GRE Support 0 0
Group Support 0 0
Sovereign Support 0 0

Additional Factors 0 0

Related Criteria And Research
-- Banks: Rating Methodology And Assumptions, Nov. 9, 2011
-- Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment Methodology And Assumptions,
Nov. 9, 2011
-- Bank Capital Methodology And Assumptions, Dec. 6, 2010

Ratings List
Upgraded
To From
CentroCredit Bank JSC
Counterparty Credit Rating B/Stable/B B-/Stable/C
Russia National Scale ruA-/--/-- ruBBB-/--/--
Certificate Of Deposit B/B B-/C

(Caryn Trokie, New York Ratings Unit)