S&P takes KEB off credit watch list

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- Global rating agency Standard & Poor's said Friday that it has removed Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) from its credit watch list, following U.K.-based HSBC Holdings Plc's announcement not to buy the South Korean lender's controlling stake.

The global credit appraiser retained its outlook on KEB's long-term rating as "stable."
HSBC said earlier in the day that it has terminated a deal to buy a 51.02 percent
stake in KEB, citing falling asset values amid global financial market turmoil.
Last September, HSBC agreed to buy South Korea's No. 5 lender from U.S. buyout
fund Lone Star Funds for US$6.3 billion, but the deal had been in the doldrums as
the financial watchdog withheld its approval due to legal disputes over Lone
Star's 2003 purchase of KEB.
On September 9, Standard & Poor's placed KEB's credit ratings on review, citing
positive implications thanks to the increased possibility that HSBC will buy a
controlling stake in KEB and put the lender back on track.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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