The following ratings were assigned to GNB:

- Bank financial strength rating of D-

- Long term local currency deposit rating of Ba1

- Short term local currency deposit rating of Not Prime

- Long term foreign currency deposit rating of Ba1

- Short term foreign currency deposit rating of Not Prime

All these ratings have stable outlooks

RATINGS RATIONALE

GNB's standalone ratings reflect the bank's niche franchise focused on small and medium-sized companies and payroll-linked loans that are funded in the wholesale market. The ba3 standalone BCA also incorporates GNB's adequate profitability, which reflects some instability given the bank's market-making activities in Colombian government securities that contribute around 60% of the bank's earnings. The bank also posts a narrower net interest margin when compared to those of larger retail banks in Colombia in light of its primarily wholesale funding base and significant holdings of relatively low-yield Colombian government securities.

GNB's ratings incorporate the bank's seven-year track record as a merged entity, which has been profitable and produced relatively low average past due loan levels of 1.24% and good reserve coverage of 252%, including delinquency and coverage ratios of 1.6% and 197.6% as of March 2012, which compared favorably with system averages. These resilient metrics partly reflect the bank's concentration in secured payroll linked loans and cashflow-based analysis on the commercial side, supported by strict risk management policies and controls. GNB's commercial portfolio is also developed with well known borrowers and business relationships.GNB is the largest supplier in Colombia of payroll-linked loans, which are repaid directly from salaries, thus limiting defaults.

GNB's predominantly wholesale-funded franchise also exposes the bank to funding volatility and potential pressure on its financial margin. Though funding is deposit based, only 11% is from retail customers, a low proportion compared to the more granular funding base of its larger local peers. The bulk of deposits are also institutional in nature and present high depositor concentrations. Moody's said that the bank's primarily Tier 1 capital and modest loan to deposit ratio of 65.3% act as buffers against this funding risk.

Moody's indicates that GNB's announced acquisition of HSBC's subsidiaries in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and Paraguay, that is still pending regulatory approval, should support GNB's franchise growth strategy, particularly in Colombia and Peru. The acquisition in Colombia is expected to increase GNB's loan book by one third, ranking it tenth in the financial system, and without a major change in asset composition. In Peru, GNB will be the only Colombian bank with a full banking license and in Uruguay and Paraguay GNB will rank sixth and seventh, respectively. The transaction is expected to close at year end 2012 through June 2013 and will be financed by cash.

At the same time, this large acquisition exposes the bank to cross-border integration and transition risks that will challenge GNB's existing management structure given its expansion into several new markets at once, said Moody's. It will also present greater credit and market risks to manage, the results of which are yet to be quantified. GNB also faces fierce competition in these new markets from much larger, entrenched banks.

GNB's Ba1 local and foreign currency deposit ratings are two notches above the bank's standalone credit assessment of ba3, as they incorporate Moody's assumption of a high probability of systemic support for GNB. This assumption takes into account the bank's market shares in deposits and loans and Moody's assessment of Colombia as a high support country. As of year-end 2011, GNB held a 2.2% market share in loans and 3.2% in deposits, and with a substantially higher 11.4% share of payroll linked loans.

The principal methodology used in rating GNB was Moody's Consolidated Global Bank Rating Methodology published in June 2012. Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these methodologies.

GNB is headquartered in Bogotá, Distrito Capital and is the thirteenth largest bank in Colombia in terms of loans. As of 31 March 2012, GNB reported total assets of US$5.6 billion, gross loans of US$2.5 billion, deposits of US$3.7 billion, and shareholders' equity of US$373 million.

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