S&P rates offerings from Firstfed, Compass.

NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's Corp. Tuesday assigned its B-plus rating to Firstfed Financial Corp.'s $50 million senior note offering.

The agency, noting Firstfed's highly concentrated loan portfolio and real estate losses. also assigned its double-B/single-B CD ratmg to Firstfed's primary subsidiary, First Federal Bank of California.

Standard & Poor's also recently affirmed Compass Bancshares Inc.'s triple-B subordinated debt rating as well as the single-Aminus/A-2 rating on the bank notes of Compass Bank. The agency upgraded its outlook on the company's debt to stable from positive.

The agency cited the solid earnings, strong asset quality, and adequate capital levels of Compass, the fourth-largest banking company in Alabama. S&P added that its steady performance was "somewhat tempered" by an aggressive out-of-state expansion program in Texas and Florida.

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