Jul 28, 2010, 3:55pm

Fitch Ratings has upgraded HSBC Bank (Uruguay) S.A.'s ratings following the upgrade of Uruguay's sovereign ratings announced on July 27, 2010 as follows:

--Foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'BBB-' from 'BB+';

-Local currency IDR to 'BBB' from 'BBB-'.

At the same time, Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:

--National long-term rating at 'AAA(uy)';

--Support rating at '3'.

The Rating Outlook on the IDRs remains Positive, the same as on the sovereign's IDRs, and the Outlook on the National long-term rating remains Stable.

The international ratings of HSBC Bank (Uruguay) are constrained by those of the sovereign. The bank's foreign currency IDR is at the country ceiling, while its local currency IDR is two notches above that of the Uruguayan sovereign. These ratings, along with the bank's support rating, reflect the bank's solid ownership structure and its shareholder's strong commitment to the bank.

HSBC (Uruguay) is wholly owned by HSBC Latin America Holdings (UK) Limited, rated AA by Fitch, which in turn is a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings Plc.

The main methodologies used for these rating actions are outlined in the following criteria reports which are available at 'www.fitchratings.com':

--'Global Financial Institutions Rating Criteria', Dec. 29, 2009.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

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