In Brief: Fitch IBCA Teams Up with Korean Agency

Fitch IBCA, the international rating agency, and KMCC, a leading Korean rating agency, announced a new cooperation agreement.

KMCC has a dominant position in the Korean capital markets. Fitch IBCA has been rating Korean financial institutions and the Republic of Korea for several years.

Fitch IBCA said Monday that the agreement will help establish joint ratings on international issuers in Korea, including banks, corporates, and securitized transactions. It will also give KMCC an international connection and strengthen its technical know-how in the areas of financial institutions and structured finance.

Robin Monro-Davies, Fitch IBCA's chief executive officer, said South Korea will probably be the first country to recover from the Asian economic crisis. There will be many opportunities for securitized deals in South Korea as financial reform picks up speed and corporations and banks restructure their balance sheets, he said.

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