On Dec. 5, 2002, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its ratings on Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank) and related entities, including the long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on TD Bank, which were lowered to 'A+' from 'AA-' and to 'A-1' from 'A-1+'. At the same time, all ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed Nov. 4, 2002. The outlook is stable. The ratings downgrade on Toronto, Ont.-based TD Bank reflects concerns about significantly weaker profitability and capital levels arising from the precipitous deterioration in credit quality in the telecommunications and energy sectors. The bank's significant exposure to these sectors has resulted in much higher provisions for loan losses in 2002, triple the previous year's level. In addition,
