Diversity and efficiency of economic environment Resiliency of banking system Deep capital markets foster liquidity High credit costs Regulation did not prevent poor underwriting Macroeconomic imbalances Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' ranking of the U.S. financial system as part of Group 3 in our Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) reflects our view that the U.S. financial system is a diverse, efficient intermediator of funds and allocator of investments in a very large, relatively stable, and prosperous economy. It benefits from the position of the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency that both insulates the system from the fiscal and current account deficits of the economy and ensures that the banking system does not rely on external funding. On the
