Expected financial support from the sole owner, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Leading domestic retail banking franchise in a very-low-risk country with a dynamic economy. Very strong capitalization. Earnings sensitivity to the low-interest-rate environment and credit-spread risks. Geographic concentration in a wealthy but small domestic market. S&P Global Ratings' stable outlook on Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat, Luxembourg (BCEE) mirrors that on Luxembourg (AAA/Stable/A-1+). This reflects BCEE's status as a government-related entity (GRE) and our expectation that the bank will keep its integral link with, and very important role for, Luxembourg's government over our rating horizon. We would lower the long-term rating on BCEE to 'AA' if we lowered the long-term rating on Luxembourg to 'AA+'. We might also
