DBRS Rates Lloyds TSB Bank plc New Issuance AAA, Based on Guarantee

DBRS has today assigned its AAA rating to Lloyds TSB Bank plc’s (Lloyds or the Bank) USD 1.25 billion senior floating rate notes due 2011, USD 1.5 billion fixed rate notes due 2011, USD 1.25 billion floating rate notes due 2012 and USD1.0 billion fixed rate notes due 2012, issued by Lloyds under the Bank’s GBP50.0 Senior Debt Issuance Programme (the Programme). The AAA rating is based on the explicit guarantee 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 of the Programme.

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 Lloyds AA (low) Senior Debt and Deposits ratings remain at their current levels. The trend on all long-term non guaranteed ratings remains Negative.

On 8 October 2008, the HM Treasury announced the U.K. government’s 2008 Credit Guarantee Scheme for U.K. incorporated banks and building socieities’ debt issuance, 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 applies only to the aforementioned debt; however, DBRS will rate future debt issuances covered under the HM Treasury guarantee scheme at AAA. For all other debt, DBRS’s current ratings still apply.

Note:
All figures are in GBP unless otherwise noted.

The applicable methodologies are Analytical Background and Methodology for European Bank Ratings, Second Edition, and Enhanced Methodology for Bank Ratings – Intrinsic and Support Assessments which can be found on our website under Methodologies.

This is a Corporate (Financial Institutions) rating.