Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on April 8 affirmedBanco BICE'slong-term counterparty credit rating at BBB+, with a stable outlook.

At the same time, S&P maintained its "bbb" stand-alonecredit profile on the bank.

Banco BICE's rating reflects its moderate business positionas the 10th largest bank in Chile in terms of loans and its adequate capitaland earnings with a projected risk-adjusted capital ratio of about 7.4%.

The rating also reflects the company's strong risk positionwith better asset quality metrics than the industry average, its below-averagefunding due to a high share of financing from institutional investors as apercentage of total funding, and its adequate liquidity, S&P said.

Banco BICE has a moderate systemic importance to Chile'sgovernment, which results in a one-notch uplift from the bank's stand-alonecredit profile.

S&P Ratings andGlobal Market Intelligence are owned by McGraw Hill Financial Inc.