NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) July 20, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that U.S. Bancorp's (USB; A+/Stable/A) relatively strong second-quarter earnings, given the current operating environment, will not affect the ratings. The company posted pretax Standard&Poor's-adjusted earnings of $1.6 billion, up from $1.4 billion in the previous quarter and $0.95 billion the prior year. Adjusted Standard&Poor's revenue increased 4.3% year over year, as an increase in average earning assets helped offset net interest margin (NIM)compression. Specifically, the NIM declined 23 basis points (bps) year over year to 3.67%, reflecting higher balances in lower-yielding securities and a higher cash position at the Federal Reserve. We expect the NIM to decline moderately in the second half
