On Feb. 11, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A' long-term and 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit ratings on Sweden-based Swedbank (FöreningsSparbanken AB). The outlook is stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed the 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit rating on Swedbank's wholly owned subsidiary Spintab AB (Swedmortgage). The ratings were affirmed after the announcement on Feb. 11 that Swedbank intended to make a cash offer of €11 per share for the remaining 40.3% shares in Estonia-based Hansabank it does not already own. The total transaction value would be about €1.47 billion. The offer requires at least 95% of shareholders to accept, and is subject to approval by the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority. As a result of the
