On May 21, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Laurentian Bank of Canada to positive from stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed all ratings on the bank, including the 'BBB' long-term and 'A-2' short-term counterparty credit ratings. The outlook revision reflects the good progress made toward strengthening core operating performance and improving the quality and composition of earnings aided by the solid execution of the strategic plan under the current leadership. The strong and stable core customer funding and lower credit risk profiles provide an element of support to the ratings and benefit the bank in more stable and sustainable financial performance. Counterbalancing this are below-peer average financial metrics and geographic concentration. Laurentian
