Following a review under Standard&Poor's revised bank criteria (published on Nov. 9, 2011), we have lowered our long-term issuer credit rating on National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) to 'AA-' from 'AA'. Our 'A-1+' short-term rating on NAB is affirmed. The outlook is stable. Our ratings on subsidiaries of NAB have also been lowered following our review (see Ratings List). Our ratings on NAB reflect the anchor SACP for a bank operating mainly in Australia; plus the bank's strong business position, and its adequate capital and earnings, risk position, and liquidity; average funding; and potential government support. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that capital will continue to improve over the next 12-18 months, asset quality will not deteriorate
