On Oct. 10, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised the outlook on its long-term counterparty credit ratings on Sweden-based Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) to negative from stable. At the same time, the 'A+' long-term and A-1 short-term ratings on the bank were affirmed. The outlook revision reflects a sharper-than-expected slowdown in the Baltic countries and the negative implications for the bank's asset quality and earnings. It also reflects the sizeable impact on earnings and shareholders' equity of mark-to-market losses in the bank's securities portfolio. SEB is exposed to the economic contraction in the Baltic countries. The SEB group has been one of the main players behind very strong lending growth in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania over the past
