S&P ups Wilmington Trust

Standard & Poor's said it raised the counterparty credit ratings on Wilmington Trust Corp. to A-/A-2 and on its subsidiary Wilmington Trust Co. to A/A-1.

The outlook is negative.

The ratings also were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with positive implications in November 2010 following news that it would be acquired by M&T Bank Corp.

The upgrade reflects the completion of the acquisition, S&P said. As part of the transaction, M&T will assume all of Wilmington's assets and liabilities, the agency said.

A material negative credit impact from the acquisition is not expected, but M&T could face near-term integration challenges when it takes over the company, especially with its fee-based businesses, S&P said.

If M&T successfully assimilates Wilmington's businesses and M&T's performance remains positive relative to peers, the outlook could be raised to stable, the agency said.

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