Entrenched franchise in China and Hong Kong, with better geographic diversification than peers'. Large customer deposits base supports funding and liquidity. Very high likelihood of receiving extraordinary support from the Chinese government. Slowing domestic economic growth to exert pressure on asset quality. Narrowing net interest margins and slowing growth in fee-based income. The stable outlook on Bank of China Ltd. (BOC) reflects our expectation that the bank can maintain its stand-alone credit profile (SACP) significantly stronger than the industry average in China over the next 12-24 months and continue to have a very high likelihood of government support. We could downgrade BOC if we lower our assessment of the bank's SACP by two notches to 'bbb-' and also lower our
