OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'B+/B' counterparty credit and 'kzBBB+' national scale ratings to Kazakhstan-based Temirbank JSC. The outlook is stable.

At the same time, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its preliminary 'B+' senior unsecured debt rating to the proposed U.S. dollar-denominated bond to be issued by Temir Capital B.V., a Netherlands-based special purpose vehicle, in November 2006. The bond issue is guaranteed by Temirbank.

The ratings on Temirbank JSC reflect its ambitious strategy and short track record, as well as its small size, which exposes it to high funding risk, and to a lesser extent, credit concentration risks.