On Feb. 22, 2007, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services raised its long-term issuer credit rating on Australia-based major bank, National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB) and core subsidiaries to 'AA' from 'AA-'. The short-term issuer credit rating is affirmed at 'A-1+'. The ratings were removed from CreditWatch with positive implications, where they were placed on Nov. 8, 2006. The outlook is stable. A progressive structural strengthening of NAB's financial profile and risk management has contributed to the upgrade. The bank is committed to the Basel II accreditation process and is already leveraging increased information derived from this process. The bank's financial profile has benefited from a number of measures including strong asset quality, an improved operational efficiency, as well as an
