We believe that the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's economy continues to be challenging and may weaken further because of possible debt funding issues that could result in a broader weakening of loan performance and profitability for certain local banks exposed to the Commonwealth and its public corporations. We are placing our ratings on four Puerto Rico-based banks on CreditWatch with negative implications. On Feb. 12, 2015, we lowered our rating on the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's general obligation (GO) and appropriation debt to 'B' from 'BB'. The outlook is negative (see "Puerto Rico General Obligation Debt Rating Lowered To 'B' From 'BB' On Potential Inability To Meet Debt Commitments," published Feb. 12, 2015). In a related action, we also lowered
