MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 23, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its 'AA' counterparty credit rating on National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB) has been placed on negative outlook from stable. The negative rating outlook reflects increasing uncertainty surrounding the robustness of risk management systems and procedures and the extent to which risk management deficiencies contributed to the recently identified unauthorized foreign exchange option trades. Although NAB has actively responded to the breaches by undertaking internal and external reviews and bolstering its procedures, market confidence has been eroded somewhat, which reduces its strategic and financial flexibility--at least in the near term. "The trading breaches have questioned the integrity of the bank's risk management system, and if the risk
