UK Banks credit profile

UK Banks credit profile tumbles somewhat

LONDON (Standard & Poor's) Jan. 28, 2010--We no longer classify the United
Kingdom (AAA/Negative/A-1+) among the most stable and low-risk banking systems
globally, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services noted in a report titled "Banking
Industry Country Risk Assessment: United Kingdom" published today on
RatingsDirect. This is due to our view of the country's weak economic
environment, the reputational damage we believe has been experienced by the
banking industry, and what we see as the high dependence on state-support
programs of a significant proportion of the industry.

We placed the U.K.'s banking system in Group 3 out of our 10 Banking Industry
Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) groups on Dec. 21, 2009, which primarily
reflects our view of relatively high leverage in the U.K. economy and the
losses the industry could bear during the deleveraging process. (For more
information, see "U.K. BICRA Revised Downward To Group 3 From Group 2 Due To
High Leverage In The Economy And Weak Earnings Prospects".) The scale ranges
from Group 1 (strongest) to Group 10 (weakest). The macroeconomic and banking
industrywide factors that affect the BICRA influence all bank counterparty
credit ratings in the U.K. Read more...