Abanka Vipa d.d. hereby publishes the following announcement:
International ratings agency Fitch Ratings has published a change to Abanka's credit risk rating. The agency assigned Abanka a Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR of "BB-", a Short-Term Foreign Currency IDR of "B", a Viability Rating of "bb-", an Individual Rating of "D" and a "stable" Outlook. Abanka's Support Rating remains unchanged at "3".

Fitch also amended Abanka's government-backed bond rating to "AA-" and its innovative instrument rating to "B".

The agency attributes the change to Abanka's Outlook to several factors. Fitch has expressed concerns about the unstable conditions in the European and Slovenian banking sectors. The agency stated the following as the most significant factors in its downgrading of the Bank: a deterioration in the quality of assets and their impact, i.e. the pressure they exert, on the Bank's capital position, potential losses in 2011 owing to limited possibilities to redeem collateral, the Bank's dependence on refinancing from the rest of the world and uncertainty regarding the sale of the Bank.

Abanka has already adopted measures to mitigate the impact of the aforementioned downgrading. These include reducing the Bank's dependence on funding from the international markets by maintaining an appropriate liquidity reserve, which has in part facilitated the early partial repurchase of government-backed Abanka Vipa d.d. bonds in the amount of EUR 149,411,000. Through this measure, the Bank has mitigated risks and reduced refinancing costs for 2012. The Bank is also taking the necessary steps to ensure an appropriate level of capital adequacy, which stood at 11.7% as at 30 June 2011 and exceeded prescribed regulatory requirements. This will ensure stable and secure operations in the future as well.

This announcement in English is of an informative nature. This announcement will also be published on Abanka Vipa d.d.'s website (www.abanka.si) as of 30 September 2011, and will be accessible for a period of no less than five years.