In our view, Dutch banks are exposed to the potential of a more protracted downturn in The Netherlands and wider eurozone. We are therefore revising our economic risk score for The Netherlands and our Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment to '3' from '2'. We believe that Dutch private bank F. Van Lanschot Bankiers' (Van Lanschot) cost of risk has increased since mid-2011 owing to the weaker domestic environment in which it operates. We are therefore lowering our long-term ratings on Van Lanschot to 'BBB+' from 'A-' and affirming the 'A-2' short-term ratings. The stable outlook primarily reflects our expectation that the bank should be able to maintain its strong capitalization despite the pressure on its operating environment. On Nov. 16,
