The emergence of a small number of large problem loans, borrower stress after recent weather events, and a soft Queensland property market have seen a deterioration in Bank of Queensland Ltd.'s (BoQ) earnings and asset quality metrics. We have revised our outlook on BoQ to negative from stable, reflecting our view that the bank's financial profile could deteriorate to a level not consistent with the current rating if asset quality weakens further and results in added earnings pressure. We are affirming the ratings at 'BBB+/A-2'. On June 7, 2011, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Bank of Queensland Ltd. (BoQ) to negative, from stable. At the same time, we affirmed BoQ's 'BBB+/ A-2' counterparty credit ratings. The
