NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 4, 2012--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it assigned its 'A-3' commercial paper rating to Whirlpool Corp.'s (BBB-/Stable/A-3) new €500 million commercial paper program. Whirlpool has indicated borrowings under the program will be used for general corporate purposes. As of Sept. 30, 2011, Whirlpool had about $2.5 billion of debt outstanding. The ratings on Whirlpool reflect Standard&Poor's "satisfactory" assessment of the company's business risk profile (as defined in our criteria) as the largest major appliance manufacturer in the world, supported by its portfolio of well-recognized brand names, focused research and development (R&D) efforts, and geographic diversity, as well as our opinion of its "intermediate" financial risk profile and strong liquidity. For
