Today's rating affirmation reflects the following key factors:

(1) Iceland's economy, its public finances and debt trajectory remain on an improving trend. The economic recovery is expected to continue at a reasonable pace notwithstanding risks emanating from the slowdown in the EU. Fiscal policy remains prudent, and the budget deficit has been reduced substantially with the recently presented budget plan for 2013 envisaging a further reduction in the fiscal deficit next year. This will allow Iceland's very high public debt-to-GDP ratio to start declining from 2012 onwards.

(2) Set against that, risks to the outlook remain substantial and exceed those for Iceland's similarly rated peers whose ratings carry a stable outlook. Moody's therefore maintains the negative outlook despite the clear improvements referred to above. In particular, public and external debt ratios remain very high, which severely limits the government's ability to deal with future shocks. Such shocks may arise from (1) large and destabilising capital outflows that might result from the relaxation of Iceland's strict capital controls, (2) a negative outcome of the "Icesave" litigation or (3) further problems in the still weak banking sector.

Moody's has also lowered the foreign-currency bond ceiling to Baa3 and has affirmed the foreign-currency deposit ceiling at Baa3. The local-currency bond and deposit ceilings have been lowered to Baa2.

RATINGS RATIONALE

RATIONALE FOR AFFIRMING THE Baa3 RATING

Firstly, the Icelandic economy has clearly emerged from the crisis-induced recession and is now expanding at a reasonable pace. Real GDP growth is expected at around 2% and 2.5% in 2012 and 2013 respectively. While the slowdown in the EU negatively affects Iceland's exports, private consumption and investment have been strong and are expected to continue to support Iceland's growth in 2013.

Secondly, the government has started to establish a track record of prudent fiscal policies, even after the termination of the IMF Stand-By agreement last August. This year's general government budget deficit is expected to be around 2% of GDP, compared with last year's deficit of 5.4% of GDP. The 2013 budget proposal envisages a broadly balanced budget and a significant primary surplus of over 3% of GDP for the central government. Moody's own forecasts are a little less optimistic -- the rating agency expects the fiscal deficit to reach 1.6% of GDP next year as a consequence of lower-than-forecast asset sales, higher spending pressures in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in April and the need for further capital injections into the Housing Financing Fund (HFF) (BCA of b2, final rating Baa3, negative). However, even under Moody's more conservative budget forecasts the public debt ratio will continue on a downward trend. The rating agency's public debt calculations are higher than the government's as it includes the loans extended by the IMF and Norway to the central bank in its public debt calculations. After reaching a peak of close to 119% of GDP in 2011, the public debt ratio is forecast to decline to 104% of GDP by the end of 2013 and below the 100% mark in 2014. Moody's also views positively the new Organic Budget Law that is expected to be in force next year and which would be an important step to reduce the pro-cyclicality of Iceland's public finances.

RATIONALE FOR MAINTAINING THE NEGATIVE OUTLOOK

While Moody's recognises the clear improvements that Iceland has made, the risks to the rating remain biased to the downside and greatly exceed those of other similarly rated sovereigns whose ratings carry a stable outlook. Moody's therefore maintains the negative outlook which has been in place since July 2010.

In particular, the country's public and external debt ratios remain very high at 112% of GDP and around 173% of GDP (even when taking into account the likely settlements of the failed banks' liabilities). The Icelandic authorities will need to run consistent and substantial primary surpluses in the coming years in order to materially reduce these high debt ratios. Significant risks to the outlook for public finances remain, in particular (1) an uncertain outlook for economic growth over the medium term and (2) the possible crystallisation of further contingent liabilities onto the government's balance sheet. Regarding the latter, while the banking sector recapitalisation has been more or less completed HFF remains thinly capitalised and will almost certainly require further capital support from the government. In addition, the government has guaranteed significant amounts of HFF's debt and the major Icelandic power company Landsvirkjun (Baa3, negative). Overall, state guarantees amount to around 75% of GDP. The high debt ratios imply that the government has very limited ability to deal with further shocks which may arise from (1) an unduly rapid relaxation of the strict capital controls, (2) a negative outcome of the "Icesave" litigation or (3) further problems in the still very weak banking sector.

The largest event risk in Moody's view will be finding the right sequence and pace in terms of relaxing the strict capital controls currently in place. Maintaining the controls for an extended period would restrict access to external financing for most entities in Iceland and negatively impact the economy while a rapid relaxation would likely result in substantial capital outflows which will have a destabilising effect on the currency. While the Icelandic authorities are fully aware of the risks of a too rapid relaxation, the progress on reducing foreigners' ISK holdings so far has been slower than expected and there is pressure to move more rapidly to the next stage of the liberalisation strategy. Also, the current authorisation for maintaining the extensive controls will expire at the end of 2013 and would need to be extended by parliament unless the controls were to be lifted by then.

Secondly, the sovereign's balance sheet might also be affected by a negative outcome from the "Icesave" litigation. While asset recoveries from the Landsbanki estate now exceed priority deposit claims - mitigating to a certain extent the severity of this risk - the risk to the government's balance sheet has not disappeared and could still be substantial. According to recent IMF estimates, the cost to government could be close to 20% of GDP in a worst-case scenario (although significantly lower at 3.5-6% of GDP in more favourable scenarios). The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court is expected to rule on the case before the end of the year, although Moody's notes that this does not necessarily remove the uncertainty over the final cost to government as the financial liability would have to be determined through further litigation unless the parties reach an agreement.

Finally, Moody's notes that the financial system remains weak. While the commercial banks are highly capitalised at the moment, asset quality remains comparatively poor with non-performing loans at around 10% (19% according to the cross-default method used by the Icelandic authorities) and the relaxation of capital controls might place substantial pressure on the banks' currently comfortable liquidity positions. Given the government's own elevated debt burden, it is unlikely to be in a position to support the banking system in case of new problems emerging.

WHAT COULD MOVE THE RATING UP/DOWN

Moody's would consider stabilising the outlook on Iceland's Baa3 rating if the above-mentioned key risks substantially diminish.

Downwards pressure would develop on the rating if Moody's expectations regarding capital control liberalisation did not materialise, leading to large and disorderly capital outflows and a severe weakening of the exchange rate, with negative consequences for the domestic economy. The rating could also come under downward pressure if no further progress was made in addressing the still elevated public debt ratio or if further problems emerged in the banking sector. A severe weakening of the euro area could also put pressure on Iceland's rating given the important trade linkages.

COUNTRY CEILINGS

The foreign-currency bond ceiling has been lowered to Baa3 and is now in line with the sovereign rating. The foreign-currency deposit ceiling remains unchanged at Baa3. Given the capital controls in place, which give the government and central bank extensive control over capital flows out of the country, Moody's views that the government's issuer and bond ratings constitute an upper limit to all other foreign-currency ratings. The local-currency bond and deposit ceilings have been lowered to Baa2 (from Aa3 and A1 respectively). All short-term ceilings remain at Prime-3.

The principal methodology used in this rating was Sovereign Bond Ratings published in September 2008. Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

REGULATORY DISCLOSURES

For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt, this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.

Moody's considers the quality of information available on the rated entity, obligation or credit satisfactory for the purposes of issuing a rating.

Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it uses in assigning a rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent third-party sources. However, Moody's is not an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate information received in the rating process.

Please see Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions on the Rating Process page on www.moodys.com for further information on the meaning of each rating category and the definition of default and recovery.

Please see ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the last rating action and the rating history. The date on which some ratings were first released goes back to a time before Moody's ratings were fully digitized and accurate data may not be available. Consequently, Moody's provides a date that it believes is the most reliable and accurate based on the information that is available to it. Please see the ratings disclosure page on our website www.moodys.com for further information.

Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.

Kathrin Muehlbronner Vice President - Senior Analyst Sovereign Risk Group Moody'sInvestors Service Ltd. One Canada SquareCanary WharfLondon E14 5FA United Kingdom JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454 Bart Oosterveld MD - Sovereign Risk Sovereign Risk Group JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376 SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service Ltd. One Canada SquareCanary WharfLondon E14 5FA United Kingdom JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454 (C) 2012 Moody's Investors Service, Inc. and/or its licensors and affiliates (collectively, "MOODY'S"). All rights reserved.

CREDIT RATINGS ISSUED BY MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE, INC. ("MIS") AND ITS AFFILIATES ARE MOODY'S CURRENT OPINIONS OF THE RELATIVE FUTURE CREDIT RISK OF ENTITIES, CREDIT COMMITMENTS, OR DEBT OR DEBT-LIKE SECURITIES, AND CREDIT RATINGS AND RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS PUBLISHED BY MOODY'S ("MOODY'S PUBLICATIONS") MAY INCLUDE MOODY'S CURRENT OPINIONS OF THE RELATIVE FUTURE CREDIT RISK OF ENTITIES, CREDIT COMMITMENTS, OR DEBT OR DEBT-LIKE SECURITIES. MOODY'S DEFINES CREDIT RISK AS THE RISK THAT AN ENTITY MAY NOT MEET ITS CONTRACTUAL, FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS AS THEY COME DUE AND ANY ESTIMATED FINANCIAL LOSS IN THE EVENT OF DEFAULT. CREDIT RATINGS DO NOT ADDRESS ANY OTHER RISK, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: LIQUIDITY RISK, MARKET VALUE RISK, OR PRICE VOLATILITY. CREDIT RATINGS AND MOODY'S OPINIONS INCLUDED IN MOODY'S PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT STATEMENTS OF CURRENT OR HISTORICAL FACT. CREDIT RATINGS AND MOODY'S PUBLICATIONS DO NOT CONSTITUTE OR PROVIDE INVESTMENT OR FINANCIAL ADVICE, AND CREDIT RATINGS AND MOODY'S PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT AND DO NOT PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO PURCHASE, SELL, OR HOLD PARTICULAR SECURITIES. NEITHER CREDIT RATINGS NOR MOODY'S PUBLICATIONS COMMENT ON THE SUITABILITY OF AN INVESTMENT FOR ANY PARTICULAR INVESTOR. MOODY'S ISSUES ITS CREDIT RATINGS AND PUBLISHES MOODY'S PUBLICATIONS WITH THE EXPECTATION AND UNDERSTANDING THAT EACH INVESTOR WILL MAKE ITS OWN STUDY AND EVALUATION OF EACH SECURITY THAT IS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR PURCHASE, HOLDING, OR SALE.

ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS PROTECTED BY LAW, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, COPYRIGHT LAW, AND NONE OF SUCH INFORMATION MAY BE COPIED OR OTHERWISE REPRODUCED, REPACKAGED, FURTHER TRANSMITTED, TRANSFERRED,DISSEMINATED, REDISTRIBUTED OR RESOLD, OR STORED FOR SUBSEQUENT USE FOR ANY SUCH PURPOSE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN ANY FORM OR MANNER OR BY ANY MEANS WHATSOEVER, BY ANY PERSON WITHOUT MOODY'S PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT.

All information contained herein is obtained by MOODY'S from sources believed by it to be accurate and reliable. Because of the possibility of human or mechanical error as well as other factors, however, all information contained herein is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind. MOODY'S adopts all necessary measures so that the information it uses in assigning a credit rating is of sufficient quality and from sources MOODY'S considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent third-party sources. However, MOODY'S is not an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate information received in the rating process. Under no circumstances shall MOODY'S have any liability to any person or entity for (a) any loss or damage in whole or in part caused by, resulting from, or relating to, any error negligent or otherwise or other circumstance or contingency within or outside the control of MOODY'S or any of its directors, officers, employees or agents in connection with the procurement, collection, compilation, analysis, interpretation, communication, publication or delivery of any such information, or (b) any direct, indirect, special, consequential, compensatory or incidental damages whatsoever (including without limitation, lost profits), even if MOODY'S is advised in advance of the possibility of such damages, resulting from the use of or inability to use, any such information. The ratings, financial reporting analysis, projections, and other observations, if any, constituting part of the information contained herein are, and must be construed solely as, statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities. Each user of the information contained herein must make its own study and evaluation of each security it may consider purchasing, holding or selling.

NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF ANY SUCH RATING OR OTHER OPINION OR INFORMATION IS GIVEN OR MADE BY MOODY'S IN ANY FORM OR MANNER WHATSOEVER.

MIS, a wholly-owned credit rating agency subsidiary of Moody's Corporation ("MCO"), hereby discloses that most issuers of debt securities (including corporate and municipal bonds, debentures, notes and commercial paper) and preferred stock rated by MIS have, prior to assignment of any rating, agreed to pay to MIS for appraisal and rating services rendered by it fees ranging from $1,500 to approximately $2,500,000. MCO and MIS also maintain policies and procedures to address the independence of MIS's ratings and rating processes. Information regarding certain affiliations that may exist between directors of MCO and rated entities, and between entities who hold ratings from MIS and have also publicly reported to the SEC an ownership interest in MCO of more than 5%, is posted annually at www.moodys.com under the heading "Shareholder Relations -- Corporate Governance -- Director and Shareholder Affiliation Policy."

Any publication into Australia of this document is by MOODY'S affiliate, Moody's Investors Service Pty Limited ABN 61 003 399 657, which holds Australian Financial Services License no. 336969. This document is intended to be provided only to "wholesale clients" within the meaning of section 761G of the Corporations Act 2001. By continuing to access this document from within Australia, you represent to MOODY'S that you are, or are accessing the document as a representative of, a "wholesale client" and that neither you nor the entity you represent will directly or indirectly disseminate this document or its contents to "retail clients" within the meaning of section 761G of the Corporations Act 2001.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, credit ratings assigned on and after October 1, 2010 by Moody's Japan K.K. ("MJKK") are MJKK's current opinions of the relative future credit risk of entities, credit commitments, or debt or debt-like securities. In such a case, "MIS" in the foregoing statements shall be deemed to be replaced with "MJKK". MJKK is a wholly-owned credit rating agency subsidiary of Moody's Group Japan G.K., which is wholly owned by Moody's Overseas Holdings Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCO.

This credit rating is an opinion as to the creditworthiness or a debt obligation of the issuer, not on the equity securities of the issuer or any form of security that is available to retail investors. It would be dangerous for retail investors to make any investment decision based on this credit rating. If in doubt you should contact your financial or other professional adviser.