Strong business position backed by its leading market position in Japan Strong liquidity and stable funding backed by a large retail deposit base High likelihood of receiving government support Moderate capitalization in terms of projected risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio Modest profitability in terms of return on assets compared to global peers The outlook on Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (SMFG) is negative, reflecting the negative outlook on the sovereign rating on Japan. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services would lower the issuer credit rating (ICR) on SMFG, which incorporates one notch of government support, if we should lower the sovereign rating on Japan (AA-/Negative/A-1+). At the same time, a downward revision in the stand-alone credit profile (SACP) would also result in
