On Aug. 9, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long- and short-term counterparty credit and certificate of deposit ratings on Netherlands-based NIB Capital Bank N.V. (NIBC) to 'A-/A-2' from 'A+/A-1'. At the same time, the commercial paper rating was lowered to 'A-2' from 'A-1'. In addition, all ratings were removed from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they had been placed on July 8, 2005. The outlook is stable. The rating action follows the signing of a share purchase agreement by a consortium of investors led by JC Flowers&Co LLC (JCF; not rated) to acquire 100% of the share capital of NIB Capital N.V. (NIB; not rated), the parent company of NIBC, from its current owners, large
