On March 4, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) and its subsidiary, Banco de Crédito Local de España S.A. (BCL), to negative from stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'AA/A-1+' counterparty credit ratings on BBVA and BCL. The outlook revision is based on our lowered expectations for the economies in which BBVA operates and the potential impact on BBVA's financial performance. The ratings on Spain-based BBVA continue to reflect our view of the bank's strong franchise in its core markets, above-average financial performance, and conservative management. In our opinion, its good performance and credit risk management somewhat offset its higher reliance on emerging markets, deteriorating asset
