ARES has improved its market position, enhanced its nonaccrual loan and interest-coverage metrics, and is on track with its stated goal to reposition the legacy Allied Capital portfolio into higher-yielding assets. We are revising the outlook to positive from stable and affirming the ratings. If ARES's financial profile, capital, and funding base remain stable, we could raise the ratings. On June 14, 2011, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on ARES Capital Corp. to positive from stable. At the same time, we affirmed all ratings on ARES, including our 'BBB' long-term counterparty credit and senior unsecured debt ratings. The outlook change reflects our opinion that ARES has maintained strong capital and improved its financial metrics since the Allied
