NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 9, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Whirlpool Corp.'s (BBB-/Stable/A-3) announcement that it is currently in discussions with its bank group to seek additional flexibility in its capital structure will not immediately affect the company ratings and outlook. Whirlpool also indicated that it was in compliance with its financial covenants for fourth-quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008, and we continue to anticipate that Whirlpool will remain compliant with its financial covenants in the coming quarters. Although Standard&Poor's estimates that the EBITDA cushion on the company's leverage covenant was adequate for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2008, we recognize that this cushion may tighten by more than we originally anticipated in
