Issuer: The Hiroshimashi Credit Cooperative

JCR has affirmed the A-/Stable rating on senior debts of the issuer.

Senior debts: A-/Stable

<Rationale>
Hiroshimashi Credit Cooperative is a credit union that has head office in City of Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture and has funds totaling over 330 billion yen. It has 34 branches, covering western and central parts of the prefecture as the primary operating area. It has been steadily expanding its business by allocating the management resources intensively to the lending operations, although the business size is small. The rating for it reflects the improved asset quality, good capital level and likelihood of accumulation of retained earnings against the background of the strong earnings power. JCR considers that its capacity to absorb credit costs in a stressful situation such as an economic recession is high. Whether or not it can increase the equity capital further relative to the risk amount while maintaining the earnings power will be an important point in the rating for it hereafter.