Standard&Poor's Ratings Services published the most recent version of "Methodology And Assumptions For Ratings Above The Sovereign--Single-Jurisdiction Structured Finance," which we refer to in this article as the "RAS criteria," on May 29, 2015. Below are answers to some questions relating to these criteria. We updated the sections on covered bonds and on multicedulas to reflect the new criteria in both of those areas. We did not change any of the main precepts of these criteria. The key changes were: We clarified that we will not run any sovereign default stress for the purpose of assigning a covered bond issue a rating that is equal to the reference rating level (RRL) even if this RRL is above the
