Frankfurt am Main, April 20, 2012 -- The following release represents Moody's Investors Service's summary credit
opinion on Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG and includes certain regulatory
disclosures regarding its ratings. This release does not constitute
any change in Moody's ratings or rating rationale for Deutsche Pfandbriefbank
AG.
Moody's current ratings on Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG and its affiliates
are:
Senior Unsecured (domestic and foreign currency) ratings of A3
Senior Unsecured MTN Program (domestic currency) ratings of (P)A3
Long Term Bank Deposits (domestic and foreign currency) ratings of A3
Bank Financial Strength ratings of E+
Subordinate (domestic currency) ratings of B2
Subordinate MTN Program(domestic currency) ratings of (P)B2
Commercial Paper (domestic currency) ratings of P-1
Short Term Bank Deposits (domestic and foreign currency) ratings of P-1
Short Term Deposit Note/CD Program (domestic currency) ratings of P-1
Other Short Term (domestic currency) ratings of (P)P-1
DEPFA Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG -- merged into Hypo Real Estate
Bank AG in 2009 which was renamed to Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG in 2009
Senior Unsecured MTN Program (domestic currency) ratings of (P)A3
Subordinate MTN Program (domestic currency) ratings of (P)B2
BACKED Senior Unsecured (domestic and foreign currency) ratings of A3
BACKED Senior Unsecured MTN Program (domestic currency) ratings of (P)A3
BACKED Subordinate MTN Program (domestic currency) ratings of (P)B2
DEPFA Finance N.V.
BACKED Senior Unsecured MTN Program (domestic currency) ratings of (P)A3
Westfaelische Hypothekenbank AG -- merged into Hypo Real Estate Bank
AG in 2003 which was renamed to Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG in 2009
Senior Unsecured MTN Program (domestic currency) ratings of (P)A3
Subordinate (domestic currency) ratings of B2
Subordinate MTN Program (domestic currency) ratings of (P)B2
BACKED Senior Unsecured (domestic currency) ratings of A3
BACKED Subordinate (domestic currency) ratings of B2
Hypo Real Estate Bank International AG -- merged into Hypo Real Estate
Bank AG in 2008 which was renamed to Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG in 2009
Senior Unsecured MTN Program (domestic and foreign currency) ratings of
(P)A3
Subordinate MTN Program (domestic currency) ratings of (P)B2
BACKED Senior Unsecured (domestic currency) ratings of A3
BACKED Subordinate (domestic currency) ratings of B2
RATING RATIONALE
The low E+ BFSR assigned to pbb Deutsche Pfandbrief AG (pbb),
which maps to a baseline credit assessment (BCA) of b1, reflects
its intrinsic financial weaknesses in the absence of government support.
According to Moody's, pbb is likely to face challenges in restoring
its profitability and repairing its funding franchise, especially
in terms of access to the unsecured debt markets. In contrast,
the positive outlook on the BFSR reflects our recognition of the value
of pbb's established commercial real-estate finance business,
the recovery of which should enable pbb to deliver on its business plan.
The A3 senior unsecured debt and deposit ratings of pbb reflect our continued
expectation of a very high probability of systemic support. We
fully recognise the strong systemic support that has been evolving since
the group first experienced distress and needed financial assistance in
late September 2008 and the role it has played in restoring pbb's
capital and liquidity position. The uplift that we factor into
the A3 debt and deposit ratings under our joint default analysis (JDA)
methodology is seven notches above pbb's B1 standalone credit strength.
The subordinated debt rating of pbb is B2 and the short-term rating
is Prime-1. The outlook on all these ratings is stable.
Rating Outlook
As we consider that the A3 rating level for senior unsecured debt and
deposits accurately reflects the German government's support towards
pbb, the outlook is stable on the A3 senior unsecured debt and deposit
ratings. The outlook on the BFSR is positive, reflecting
our recognition of the value of pbb's established commercial real-estate
finance business. If this business line continues to recover,
it would enable pbb to deliver on its business plan.
What Could Change the Rating - Up
Upward pressure on the E+ BFSR could materialise in the event of
(i) a recovery of pbb's business franchise as a specialised lender for
commercial real-estate and public investment finance; (ii)
evidence of sustainable profits; and (iii) the group's ability to
re-establish an independent funding franchise.
Upward pressure on the group's senior debt and deposit ratings is unlikely,
given that any upward migration of the BFSR is likely to be gradual and
would therefore narrow the currently extraordinary level of support uplift
incorporated into the ratings.
What Could Change the Rating - Down
Downward pressure on the E+ BFSR could be triggered by (i) a failure
to restore pbb's business franchise; (ii) renewed setbacks due to
higher-than-anticipated credit losses in pbb's core business
areas; and (iii) difficulties in tapping the unsecured debt markets.
Downward pressure on the A3 ratings could result from (i) a further downgrade
of the E+ BFSR; (ii) substantial support becoming less than
we currently expect, or any sooner-than-warranted
exit strategy of the German government; and/or (iii) a gradual decrease
of pbb's systemic importance.
The methodologies used in these ratings were : "Bank Financial
Strength Ratings: Global Methodology" published in February
2007, and "Incorporation of Joint-Default Analysis
into Moody's Bank Ratings: Global Methodology" published in
March 2012. Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of these methodologies.
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.
The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entities or their designated
agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.
Information sources used to prepare each of the ratings are the following:
parties involved in the ratings, public information, and confidential
and proprietary Moody's Investors Service information.
Moody's considers the quality of information available on the rated
entities, obligations or credits satisfactory for the purposes of
issuing these ratings.
Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it
uses in assigning the ratings 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.
Moody's Investors Service may have provided Ancillary or Other Permissible
Service(s) to the rated entities or their related third parties within
the two years preceding the credit rating action. Please see the
special report "Ancillary or other permissible services provided
to entities rated by MIS's EU credit rating agencies" on the
ratings disclosure page on our website www.moodys.com for
further information.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for general disclosure on potential conflicts of interests.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for information on (A) MCO's major shareholders (above 5%)
and for (B) further information regarding certain affiliations that may
exist between directors of MCO and rated entities as well as (C) the names
of entities that hold ratings from MIS that have also publicly reported
to the SEC an ownership interest in MCO of more than 5%.
A member of the board of directors of this rated entity may also be a
member of the board of directors of a shareholder of Moody's Corporation;
however, Moody's has not independently verified this matter.
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.
Mathias Kuelpmann
Senior Vice President
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Deutschland GmbH
An der Welle 5
Frankfurt am Main 60322
Germany
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Carola Schuler
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Releasing Office:
Moody's Deutschland GmbH
An der Welle 5
Frankfurt am Main 60322
Germany
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Moody's Disclosures on Credit Rating of Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG