"Very high" likelihood of extraordinary government support. Strong franchise in mainland China and Hong Kong with above-average business and geographic diversification. Above-average funding and strong liquidity. Operates mainly in China, which has an economic risk score of '6'. Moderate capital and earnings strength. Growing pressures on loan quality as the Chinese economy slows down. The stable outlook on Bank of China Ltd. (BOC) primarily reflects the stable outlook on the sovereign credit rating on China (AA-/Stable/A-1+; cnAAA/cnA-1+). The outlook also reflects our expectation that BOC could maintain its stand-alone credit profile (SACP) and that the likelihood of extraordinary government support for the bank would remain "very high" over the next 24 months at least. We could raise the rating if
