Strong capitalization supportive of ability to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Multichannel lending strategy supports future growth. Increased SME lending in recent years leaves bank susceptible to repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak. Weaker capacity to source funding in a stressed operating environment. The stable outlook reflects our view that Bank of Queensland Ltd. (BoQ) will continue to operate a strong capital position supported by the issuance of ordinary shares in December 2019 and a decision to defer dividend payments in the immediate term, following the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, regulatory initiatives such as the Term Funding Facility (TFF) and BoQ's A$3.4 billion pre-existing CLF with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) are supportive of the bank's financial strength in
