Assets are dominated by strongly performing prime residential mortgages. Good franchise in U.K. retail banking, particularly in residential mortgages and savings deposits. Sound funding and liquidity profiles. High systemic importance in the U.K. banking system. Concentrated exposure to the leveraged U.K. household sector. Lower geographic and business diversification than universal bank competitors. Renewed pressures on the commercial loan book. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' outlook on Nationwide Building Society (Nationwide) reflects that assigned to the U.K.'s 'AAA' long-term sovereign credit rating (see "Outlook On United Kingdom Revised To Negative; 'AAA/A-1+' Ratings Affirmed," published on Dec. 13, 2012, on RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal). If we were to lower the ratings on the U.K. by one notch, we would be
