December 5, 2011 DZ BANK And German Cooperative Banking Sector Upgraded To 'AA-/A-1+' On Bank Criteria Change; Outlook Stable Primary Credit Analyst: Harm Semder, Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-158;
[email protected] Secondary Contact: Markus Schmaus, Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-155;
[email protected] Table Of Contents Overview Rating Action Rationale Outlook Ratings Score Snapshot Related Criteria And Research Ratings List www.standardandpoors.com/ratingsdirect 1 919207 | 300016412 DZ BANK And German Cooperative Banking Sector Upgraded To 'AA-/A-1+' On Bank Criteria Change; Outlook Stable Overview • Following a review of Germany's cooperative banking sector under Standard & Poor's revised bank criteria (published on Nov. 9, 2011), we have raised our ratings on the sector's core members, including central bank DZ BANK, to 'AA-/A-1+' from 'A+/A-1'. • Our ratings on the sector's core members reflect our view of the sector's strong aggregate business position, strong capital and earnings, adequate risk position, above-average funding, and strong liquidity. • We regard the sector as a cohesive economic group and expect to see solidarity support among member banks in a crisis. We do not factor in additional uplift for potential extraordinary government support. • The stable outlook reflects our view that the ratings on Germany's cooperative banking sector are unlikely to change over the next one to two years, assuming continually robust credit metrics. We also believe that the solidarity support within the sector will remain unchanged. Rating Action As previously announced, on Dec. 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on core members of Germany's cooperative banking sector, including its main central bank DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank (DZ BANK) to 'AA-/A-1+' from 'A+/A-1'.