On Nov. 4, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said that its 'AA' long-term counterparty credit rating on Barclays Bank PLC remains on CreditWatch with negative implications, where it was placed on Sept. 17, 2008. At the same time, the 'A-1+' short-term counterparty credit rating was affirmed. The ratings on Barclays are unaffected, however, by the announcement last week of a £7.05 billion capital increase. The capital increase, in the form of mandatory convertible notes and Tier 1 hybrid reserve capital instruments, is slightly larger than the £6.5 billion capital increase that Barclays had initially agreed with the U.K. authorities, following Barclays' decision not to participate in the government's recapitalization plan (see "Rating Implications Of U.K. Government Capital Injections Into
