On Dec. 19, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A' long-term counterparty credit ratings on Sweden-based Swedbank AB, incorporating an uplift of one notch for external support. At the same time, the ratings on the bank's hybrid capital instruments were lowered to 'BBB', three notches below the counterparty credit rating, while the 'A-1' short-term ratings on the bank were affirmed. The outlook is negative. The effective lowering of the bank's stand-alone credit profile reflects the ongoing hard landing in the economies of the three Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia) and our expectations that this will have significant negative implications for Swedbank's asset quality and earnings. It also reflects a moderate deterioration in the bank's Swedish loan portfolio
