We believe that the Swiss Canton of Solothurn will continue to outperform its budget planning and keep its debt burden stable over the next few years, despite a more difficult economic and financial environment. We are revising the outlook to positive. We are affirming the ratings at 'AA/A-1+'. We would consider raising the rating on Solothurn if the canton continues to structurally balance its budgetary performance. On June 21, 2010, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland to positive from stable. We affirmed the 'AA' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term issuer credit ratings on the canton. The outlook revision reflects our view that Solothurn has improved its ability to weather the economic downturn.
