We expect the global economic downturn to have a fairly benign impact on Australia, resulting in a mild and short recession in the country. We believe that, at the current rating level, NAB will be able to withstand earnings pressure and impairments or credit losses arising from the recession, benefiting from its conservative lending standards relative to international peers, and a traditional retail and commercial banking model. Consequently, we have affirmed the 'AA/A-1+' ratings with a stable outlook. On July 1, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'AA/A-1+' issuer credit ratings on Australia-based major bank National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB) and its core subsidiaries. The outlook remains stable. The rating affirmation reflects our expectation that the global economic
