rating agency.

Thomson BankWatch increased BCB's issuer rating to "B'' from "B/C'' and its short term debt rating to "TBW1'' from "TBW2'', the bank said yesterday.

The upgrade comes just six months after BCB was rated for the first time in its 25 year history by Thomson BankWatch, the world's leading bank rating agency.

"We are absolutely delighted that our rating has been upgraded,'' said BCB managing diretor Ms Audette Exel. "We have worked extremely hard to ensure that BCB builds a solid business while maintaining an extremely low risk profile.'' Ms Exel said the ratings were "exceptional'' for a bank of BCB's size. The short term debt "TBW1'' rating is the highest issued by Thomson.