LONDON (Standard&Poor's) April 2, 2012--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it has assigned its 'AAA' long-term debt rating to notes issued by Barclays Bank PLC (Barclays; A+/Stable/A-1) under its £60 billion debt issuance program and guaranteed by the U.K. government. This guarantee relates to the National Loan Guarantee Scheme (NLGS), which the government announced on March 20, 2012, and Barclays' related debt program. In particular, we have reviewed the deed of guarantee with respect to our criteria for "Rating Sovereign-Guaranteed Debt". We assess that the U.K.'s guarantee under the NLGS is consistent with our criteria for rating substitution. Notes issued under Barclays' debt issuance program will benefit from a guarantee which we assess as explicit, irrevocable,
