On Dec. 18, 2015, Scania announced a Swedish krona (SEK) 9.6 billion payment to its owner Volkswagen AG (VW) representing three years of dividends, and we cannot rule out further distributions. In our view, the dividend indicates a more aggressive financial policy, leading us to revise our assessment of Scania's stand-alone credit profile to 'bbb+' from 'a-'. We are, however, affirming our 'BBB+/A-2' ratings on Scania. The negative outlook reflects that on VW, indicating that we would downgrade Scania if we took the same action on VW. On Dec. 22, 2015, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'BBB+/A-2' long- and short-term corporate credit ratings on Sweden-based heavy truck manufacturer Scania AB (publ.). The outlook remains negative. At the same
