On Sept. 8, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A+/A-1' counterparty credit ratings on U.K.-based Nationwide Building Society. The outlook is stable. The affirmation follows today's announcement that Nationwide is to take over Derbyshire Building Society (not rated) and Cheshire Building Society (not rated). Both transactions are subject to regulatory confirmation and completion of due diligence on Cheshire. For different reasons, Derbyshire and Cheshire are likely to report losses this year, and both sought a merger with Nationwide to ensure continued stability for their customers. With £179.0 billion of balance-sheet assets at April 4, 2008, Nationwide is by far the largest U.K. building society and dwarfs Derbyshire and Cheshire, which had assets of £7.1 billion and £4.9 billion,
