LONDON (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 28, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it raised its long-term counterparty credit ratings on Israel-based Bank Leumi le-Israel B.M. and Bank Hapoalim B.M. to 'A-' from 'BBB+', following a greater weighting of potential government support in the banks' creditworthiness. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'A-2' short-term ratings on the two banks. The outlook on both banks is stable. "The upgrades reflect our opinion that the government of the State of Israel would likely provide extraordinary assistance to the systemically important banks in the country in the event that these banks encounter distress," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Magar Kouyoumdjian. Following today's rating actions, these two Israeli commercial
