On Feb. 5, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term counterparty credit ratings on Sweden-based Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) to 'A' from 'A+'. At the same time the short-term 'A-1' rating was affirmed. The outlook is stable. The downgrade reflects our opinion that the bank's asset quality will be severely affected by the sharp adjustment and slowdown in the three Baltic economies where the bank operates as well as by the ongoing recession in and the negative expectations about its domestic market and the other Nordic countries where the bank has a presence. The stable outlook reflects our opinion that SEB's financial flexibility to offset increased loan losses will be significantly enhanced by a Swedish krona (SEK)
