4 November 2009 - JCR confirmed today its ratings on the debt of Japan's Aomori Bank Ltd (TYO:8342) and lifted the ratings' outlook to "stable" from "negative".

JCR maintained the A rating on the senior debts of Aomori Bank and its A- rating on its subordinated bonds.

Aomori Bank is a regional bank with a large presence and a stable operating base in its Aomori prefecture.

Although there is downward pressure on its net operating profit from core operations, the bank reduced its risk of falling into a second consecutive large loss by means of preventive provision of loan loss reserves and strict asset impairment accounting.

It also restored the equity capital level by means of a capital increase.

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