Swedbank Sjuharad's capital levels have rapidly increased and we believe they will remain above the bank's target. We also see an improvement in the economic climate in Sweden, which supports our capital and earnings projections. We are therefore raising our long-term rating on Swedbank Sjuharad to 'A-' from 'BBB+' and affirming the 'A-2' short-term rating. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Swedbank Sjuharad will maintain sound capitalization and asset quality, supported by continued cooperation with major shareholder Swedbank AB. On April 29, 2014, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services raised its long-term counterparty credit rating on Swedish savings bank Swedbank Sjuharad AB to 'A-' from 'BBB+' and affirmed its 'A-2' short-term credit rating. The outlook is stable. The rating action
