The following banks' ratings were downgraded:
- National Bank of Uzbekistan -- long-term local currency deposit rating downgraded to B1 from Ba3
- Asaka Bank -- long-term local currency deposit rating downgraded to B1 from Ba3
- Ipoteka Bank -- long-term local currency deposit rating downgraded to B2 from B1
- Qishloq Qurilish Bank -- long-term local currency deposit rating downgraded to B2 (with positive outlook) from B1

The rating agency also confirmed the B1 long-term local currency deposit rating of Alokabank with stable outlook.

These rating actions followed the review of the affected banks' ratings -- initiated on 1 February 2012 -- which was prompted by Moody's view on the need to re-assess the level of government support provided to systemically important banks in Uzbekistan (for more information see Moody's press release, published 1 February 2012, on moodys.com).

The Not Prime short-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings of the above-named Uzbek banks, and their B2 long-term foreign currency deposit ratings were not subject to Moody's review, and are unaffected by today's announcement.

Moody's notes that Agrobank (B3 stable; E/caa1 stable), another Uzbek bank which receives ratings uplift due to the inclusion of systemic support into its ratings, was not subject to the above-mentioned rating review and hence its ratings remain unchanged. For more information on Moody's recent rating actions on Agrobank and the relevant rating rationale see moodys.com.

Moody's downgrade of four Uzbek banks' ratings reflects the rating agency's opinion that, although the government's support to state-owned and systemically important institutions is generally forthcoming in the event of need, such support may be not always sufficient and/or timely. These concerns especially relate to capital support, which was not always provided in a timely and orderly manner. "The government's policy response towards supporting state-owned banks has been at times unpredictable, and in some cases lacked transparency," explained Olga Ulyanova, a Moody's Vice President -- Senior Analyst and lead analyst for a number of Uzbek banks. "These issues surfaced recently following developments at two large state-controlled institutions -- the National Bank of Uzbekistan and Agrobank. The government did not provide timely capital injections into the capital of these banks (i) to match the rapid growth in both banks' loan books in 2010-2011 and (ii) to replenish losses incurred by Agrobank as a result of the recent fraud case. Instead, the government opted to use regulatory forbearance measures in both instances," added Ms Ulyanova.

The assignment of positive outlook on Qishloq Qurilish Bank's B2 long-term local currency deposit rating reflects Moody's expectations that the recently adopted 15-year strategy for development of mortgage business in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan and Asian Development Bank is likely to boost Qishloq Qurilish Bank's currently low visibility on the market, improve financial performance predictability and reduce the bank's exposure to non-core construction assets -- the key constraining factors for Qishloq Qurilish Bank's standalone credit assessment of b3.

Confirmation of Alokabank's B1 long-term local currency deposit rating reflects low sensitivity of this rating to the lowering of Moody's systemic support assumptions for Uzbek banks. Although the implied level of systemic support to Alokabank, which may be rendered in case of need, had been revised to moderate (from high previously), this did not result in any change of the bank's B1 long-term local currency deposit rating as it continues to benefit from a one-notch uplift from Alokabank's b2 long-term scale mapped from its E+ standalone Bank Financial Strength Rating ("BFSR").

THE RATINGS OF THE FIVE UZBEK BANKS BENEFITTING FROM SYSTEMIC SUPPORT AND WHICH WERE SUBJECT TO THE COMPLETED RATINGS REVIEW ARE AS FOLLOWS:

National Bank of Uzbekistan:
- Long-term local currency deposit rating of B1, stable outlook
- Long-term foreign currency deposit rating of B2, stable outlook
- Not Prime short-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings
- Standalone BFSR of E+ (mapping to b2 on the long-term rating scale), stable outlook

Asaka Bank:
- Long-term local currency deposit rating of B1, stable outlook
- Long-term foreign currency deposit rating of B2, stable outlook
- Not Prime short-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings
- Standalone BFSR of E+ (mapping to b2 on the long-term rating scale), stable outlook

Ipoteka Bank:
- Long-term local currency deposit rating of B2, stable outlook
- Long-term foreign currency deposit rating of B2, stable outlook
- Not Prime short-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings
- Standalone BFSR of E+ (mapping to b2 on the long-term rating scale), stable outlook

Qishloq Qurilish Bank:
- Long-term local currency deposit rating of B2, positive outlook
- Long-term foreign currency deposit rating of B2, stable outlook
- Not Prime short-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings
- Standalone BFSR of E+ (mapping to b3 on the long-term rating scale), stable outlook

Alokabank:
- Long-term local currency deposit rating of B1, stable outlook
- Long-term foreign currency deposit rating of B2, stable outlook
- Not Prime short-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings
- Standalone BFSR of E+ (mapping to b2 on the long-term rating scale), stable outlook

Headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, National Bank of Uzbekistan reported total assets of US$4.5 billion, total shareholders' equity of US$470 million and net income of US$18 million as at 31 December 2011 -- under Uzbek local accounting standards (unaudited).

Headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Asaka Bank reported total assets of US$1.937 billion, total equity of US$234 million and net income of US$22.3 million as at 31 December 2011 -- under audited IFRS.

Headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Ipoteka Bank reported total assets of US$838 million and total shareholders' equity of US$77 million as at 31 December 2011 -- under audited IFRS.

Headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Qishloq Qurilish Bank reported total assets of US$675 million and total shareholders' equity of US$116 million as at 31 December 2011 -- under Uzbek local accounting standards (unaudited).

Headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Alokabank reported total assets of US$265 million, total equity of US$41.8 million and net income of US$5.1 million -- under audited IFRS.