Frankfurt am Main, March 04, 2014 -- Moody's Investors Service has today changed to stable from negative
the outlooks on the ratings of the Land of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Aaa),
the Free State of Bavaria (Aaa), the Land of Berlin (Aa1),
the Land of Brandenburg (Aa1), the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen
(Aa1/(P)P-1) and the Land of Saxony-Anhalt (Aa1/P-1).
At the same time, Moody's has today changed to stable from
negative the outlook on the ratings of Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA,
Aa1/P-1), a government related issuer (GRI). The ratings
on all of the affected sub-sovereign entities have been affirmed.
The outlook changes follow a similar action on Germany's Aaa government
bond rating, announced on 28 February 2014. For full details
please refer to the sovereign press release (https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-changes-outlook-on-Germanys-Aaa-government-bond-rating-to--PR_292481)
, published on www.moodys.com.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The stable outlook on the six Laender mirrors the corresponding change
in outlook on Germany's Aaa government bond rating, given
the extremely strong macroeconomic, institutional, financial
and operational linkages between the sovereign and the Laender.
These linkages arise from (1) the very robust tax-sharing and equalisation
system; (2) the highly predictable institutional framework,
including the solidarity principle (Bundestreue), which is anchored
in the German constitution; and (3) the budgetary coordination and
the debt-brake mechanism, which is also enshrined in the
constitution. In addition, the very high debt stocks and
refinancing needs of the German Laender expose them to the same market
conditions as the sovereign.
In the case of Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA), a public law institution,
the stable outlook reflects the stable outlook of its support provider,
the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen.
RATIONALE FOR AFFIRMING THE RATINGS
Land of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Aaa) and the Free State of Bavaria
(Aaa) display strong economic fundamentals and in particular, the
Free State of Bavaria continues to post very strong financial performances.
The Land of Berlin (Aa1), the Land of Brandenburg (Aa1), the
Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen (Aa1) and the Land of Saxony-Anhalt
(Aa1) have shown remarkable improvements in their respective financial
performances, mainly due to tax revenue increases. However
these Laender continue to record high or very high debt burdens.
The action on EAA's rating mirrors the rating action on the Land
of Nordrhein-Westfalen. The EAA's ratings are directly
linked to the creditworthiness of the Land because of the strength of
the Land's guarantee mechanism.
WHAT COULD MOVE THE RATINGS UP / DOWN
Upward pressure on the ratings of the four Aa1-rated Laender could
be triggered by substantial reductions of their respective debt burdens,
combined with sustainable improvements in their financial performances.
Downward pressure on the ratings of any of the German Laender could be
triggered by a deterioration in the creditworthiness of the sovereign.
Moreover, a substantial deterioration of the Laenders' individual
credit profiles or a weakening of our assessment of systemic support would
also trigger downward pressure on their individual ratings.
Upward pressure on the ratings of EAA would arise in the event of an upgrade
in the rating of the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen. Downward
pressure would arise in the event of a downgrade in the rating of the
Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen.
The sovereign action required the publication of this credit rating action
on a date that deviates from the previously scheduled release date in
the sovereign release calendar, published on www.moodys.com.
Specific economic indicators as required by EU regulation are not applicable
for these entities.
On 26 February 2014, a rating committee was called to discuss the
rating of German sub-sovereign ratings. The main points
raised during the discussion were: The systemic risk in which the
issuers operate has materially decreased.
The principal methodology used in rating Germany RLGs was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2013. The principal methodology
used in rating Germany GRIs was Government-Related Issuers:
Methodology Update published in July 2010. Please see the Credit
Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these methodologies.
The weighting of all rating factors is described in the methodology used
in this rating action, if applicable.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain 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 certain 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 certain 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.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this rating action, the
associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
The ratings of rated entities Baden-Wuerttemberg, Land of
and Bavaria, Free State of were initiated by Moody's and were not
requested by these rated entities.
Rated entities Baden-Wuerttemberg, Land of and Bavaria,
Free State of or their agent(s) participated in the rating process.
These rated entities or their agent(s), if any, provided Moody's
- access to the books, records and other relevant internal
documents of the rated entities.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
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.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Harald Sperlein
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Sub-Sovereign Group
Moody's Deutschland GmbH
An der Welle 5
Frankfurt am Main 60322
Germany
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
David M Rubinoff
MD - Sub-Sovereigns
Sub-Sovereign 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 changes outlook on German sub-sovereigns to stable from negative; ratings affirmed