ME Bank stabilising

In another indicator of the improving outlook for earnings of smaller banks, Standard & Poor's on Friday lifted the outlook on the BBB/A-2 long- and short-term credit ratings assigned to ME Bank to stable from negative.

ME Bank's outlook took a negative turn in 2008, along with those of many smaller rated banks, some of whom experienced ratings downgrades.

The revised outlook reflects S&P's view that ME Bank will achieve ongoing profitability on steady growth in on-balance sheet mortgage lending and maintain earnings stability from administering securitised lending.