TORONTO (Standard & Poor's) May 1, 2002--Standard & Poor's today said it revised its outlook on Laurentian Bank of Canada to negative from stable after the bank announced an C$80 million provision for loan losses to be taken in the second quarter of 2002, which represents C$70 million more than initially projected and will eliminate almost two quarters of earnings. The ratings on Montreal, Que.-based Laurentian Bank remain unchanged, including the single-'A'-minus long-term counterparty credit rating and the 'A-1(Low)' Canadian national scale commercial paper rating. "In addition to the higher provisions for loan losses significantly affecting earnings, the negative outlook also reflects the decline in core capital to below the Canadian peer group. This has the effect of reducing the
