Following the Norwegian government's decision to end Eksportfinans' role as a provider of export credits, we have reassessed our view of the likelihood of it receiving extraordinary government support in the event of financial distress to "moderate" from "very high". Consequently, under Standard&Poor's revised bank criteria (published on Nov. 9, 2011), we are lowering our long- and short-term ratings on Eksportfinans to 'BBB+/A-2' from 'AA/A-1+'. We are also placing the 'BBB+/A-2' ratings on Credit Watch negative because we believe that the company may be in breach of the terms and conditions in its European medium-term note (EMTM) program, potentially triggering a default under our criteria. In our view, Eksportfinans has a "moderate" business position, "strong" capital and earnings,
