Feller affirms Security ratings after Dresdner deal

Chilean ratings agency Feller Rate confirmed its ratings on local financial services conglomerate Grupo Security and its subsidiary Banco Security after the conglomerate announced on Tuesday it had agreed to buy German bank Dresdner's local subsidiary for some US$65mn, the agency said in a statement. Feller has an A rating on Grupo Security and an AA- rating on Banco Security, both with stable outlooks. However, the agency placed Dresdner Bank Lateinamerika Chile's (DBLA Chile) AA rating on creditwatch with negative implications. Dresdner said it decided to sell its Chilean subsidiary - and local stock brokerage - due to a change in its Latin American strategy, adding that Grupo Security was one of several parties interested in the unit. Grupo Security plans to merge DBLA Chile with Banco Security once the transaction is completed. Feller said Grupo Security is capable of paying for the acquisition thanks to a recent capital increase, its own financial resources and external financing. Feller is a strategic affiliate of international ratings agency Standard & Poor's. To read the full Feller statement (in Spanish) on Grupo and Banco Security place the following link into your browser: http://www.bnamericas.com/rc_search_detail.xsql?id_documento=47764&Tx_idioma=E