LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Oct. 25, 1999--Standard&Poor's today lowered its ratings on Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken Funding Inc. (guaranteed by SEB). The outlook on SEB is negative. (See list below for all ratings.) The rating actions follow the announcement of SEB's acquisition of Bank fur Gemeinwirtschaft AG (BfG) for SKr13.9 billion (US$1.7 billion at SKr8.13 to US$1). The acquisition will be funded partly by a rights issue of SKr4.1 billion. The remainder of the price will be financed by cash and subordinated loans. BfG is Germany's fifth-largest commercial bank, with total assets of SKr365 billion at year-end 1998, and SKr110 billion of assets under management. The proposed transaction is subject to regulatory and
