LONDON (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 8, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it would not consider it a default of the Republic of Iceland (foreign currency BBB/Negative/A-3; local currency BBB+/Negative/A-2) if the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund of Iceland did not honor its guarantees on deposits outside Iceland. Standard&Poor's understands that the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund is a private foundation operating under Icelandic Law, and that its obligations are not pari passu with Icelandic government debt. For a definition of Sovereign default, please refer to table 3 of "Sovereign Credit Ratings: A Primer," published on May 29, 2008, on RatingsDirect.
