We consider that our assessment of Bank of Queensland's future capitalization and earnings may support a higher rating. As a result, we have placed the long-term counterparty credit rating of 'BBB' on CreditWatch with positive implications. The rating could be raised by one notch to 'BBB+' if we view that the bank can comfortably sustain its risk-adjusted capital ratio above 10%. We expect to resolve the CreditWatch following further discussions with the bank to better understand its capital-management plans and a further review of the bank's earnings position. On Feb. 24, 2012, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'BBB' long-term counterparty credit rating on Bank of Queensland Ltd. (BOQ) on CreditWatch with positive implications. At the same time, we
