LONDON (Standard&Poor's) April 24, 2012--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it has assigned its 'AAA' long-term debt rating to notes issued by Lloyds TSB Bank PLC (Lloyds; A/Stable/A-1), and guaranteed by the U.K. government, under Lloyds' new £6 billion debt issuance program. The guarantee relates to the National Loan Guarantee Scheme (NLGS), which the U.K. government announced on March 20, 2012, and Lloyds' 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. government's guarantee under the NLGS is consistent with our criteria for rating substitution. Notes issued under Lloyds' debt issuance program will benefit from a guarantee which we
