DBRS Rates Nationwide Building Society’s New Issuances AAA, Based on Guarantee

DBRS has today assigned its AAA rating to the GBP1.5 billion 3.75% Senior Notes due 2011 issued by Nationwide Building Society (Nationwide). The AAA rating is based on the explicit guarantee of these debt issuances by the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury (the HM Treasury), which have unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed the due payment of all sums due and payable by the issuer under the notes.

The AAA rating reflects DBRS’s opinion as to the guarantor’s ability to honour the guarantee as determined by DBRS’s internal assessment of the sovereign. All other debt ratings, including Nationwide’s AA long-term debt ratings remain at their current levels, with a Negative trend. The short-term rating for Nationwide remains at R-1 (middle) with a Stable trend.

On 8 October 2008, the HM Treasury announced the U.K. government’s 2008 Credit Guarantee Scheme for U.K. incorporated banks and building societies debt issuance (the Scheme), which forms part of the U.K. government’s measures to ensure the stability of the financial system and to protect ordinary savers, depositors, businesses and borrowers.

The AAA rating only applies to the aforementioned debt; however, DBRS will rate any future debt issuances covered under the Scheme at AAA. For all other debt, DBRS’s current ratings still apply.

Note:
All figures are in GBP unless otherwise noted.

The applicable methodology is Analytical Background and Methodology for European Bank Ratings, which can be found on the DBRS website under Methodologies.

This is a Corporate (Financial Institutions) Rating.