Press Release: DBRS Comments on U.S. Tragedy Date of Release: Sep 13, 2001

Press Release: DBRS Comments on U.S. Tragedy
Date of Release: Sep 13, 2001
Rating Committee, 416-593-5577

Dominion Bond Rating Service ("DBRS") would like to express its sincere
sympathy to those affected by the tragedy in the United States.
Fortunately, all staff in our New York office is safe.
While the enormity and unprecedented nature of the events create some
uncertainty in predicting the future impact for credit ratings, our
preliminary expectation is that, barring any additional disruptions, the
tragedy, should lead to few, if any, rating changes. While companies in
areas such as the investment banking, property and casualty insurance,
and travel-related industries could see pressure on operations and
profits in the short term, we have no plans to take any negative rating
actions at this time. As companies directly impacted are able to respond
with accurate information, DBRS will continue with its normal rating
process.
In a more general sense, there is concern that the already fragile
consumer in the U.S. will contract purchasing further, leading to a
deeper and / or longer economic weakening than had previously been
expected. This could lead to pressure on certain credit ratings,
particularly with cyclical issuers where DBRS was already concerned with
trends in their financial or business risk profiles. At this time,
however, it is premature to speculate on how these events will impact
the general business cycle and, therefore, no rating decisions related
to this event are contemplated at this time.
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by it to be accurate and reliable. Due to the possibility of human or
mechanical error as well as other factors, such information is provided
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