On April 30, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term counterparty credit rating on Israel-based Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M. (Leumi) to 'BBB+' from 'A-'. At the same time, the 'A-2' short-term counterparty credit rating on Leumi was affirmed. The outlook on Leumi is negative. The rating actions reflect our view of the negative impact of the global and domestic economic and market downturn on Leumi's earnings and asset quality. Standard&Poor's anticipates that the global recession could severely affect Israel's economy in 2009. We believe that growth prospects will deteriorate markedly compared with previous years, with real GDP contracting by 1.5% in 2009, with only a modest 0.8% growth rate forecast for 2010. With both the global
