We believe that the stability of the Austrian financial system has improved, and consider that overall industry risk for the Austrian banking sector has reduced. This supports Hypo Vorarlberg Bank's internal capital-generation capacity, asset quality, funding condition, and overall creditworthiness, in our view. We are therefore raising our long-term rating on Hypo Vorarlberg Bank to 'A+' from 'A', and affirming our 'A-1' short-term rating. The stable outlook on Hypo Vorarlberg reflects our expectation that extraordinary government support from its owners will remain intact while the bank's financial and risk profile remains steady over the next two years. On May 30, 2018, S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer credit rating on Austria-based Hypo Vorarlberg Bank AG (Hypo Vorarlberg) to 'A+'
