Fifth Third Bancorp may need to rebuild its capitalization given our expectation for heightened future credit losses. We are placing our rating on Fifth Third Bancorp on CreditWatch with negative implications. We could lower the rating by one notch or more, or assign a stable or negative outlook. On May 4, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'A-/A-2' counterparty credit rating on Fifth Third Bancorp (Fifth Third), as well as its 'A/A-1' counterparty credit ratings on Fifth Third Bank Michigan and The Fifth Third Bank on CreditWatch Negative. The CreditWatch placement is part of an ongoing industry review and follows our recent criteria on stress testing and U.S. banks (see "Credit Stress Testing For Financial Institutions" and "Stress
