por admin » Mié Nov 16, 2011 3:12 pm
Moody's le da un downgrade a casi todo el sector publico Aleman debido a que lo mas probable es que el gobierno no los rescate. Esto afecta a 10 bacnos Alemanes llamados Landesbanks.
BUSINESSNOVEMBER 16, 2011, 5:00 P.M. ET
Moody's Downgrades German Landesbanks
By LAURA STEVENS
FRANKFURT—Nearly all of Germany's public-sector lenders were downgraded by Moody's Investors Service Wednesday night after the ratings company said it is less likely that the German government will step in with a bailout.
The downgrades, which conclude a review begun in July, affect the senior debt and deposit ratings of 10 German banks, primarily the so-called Landesbanks.
The news comes on the heels of this week's decision by the German government to reactivate its bank-rescue fund, known as Soffin, in order to recapitalize the country's banks where necessary.
The Landesbank downgrades reflect that "future government (or systemic) support for German public-sector banks has become less certain, partly owing to the new bank resolution regime that enables the government to impose losses on creditors outside of liquidation," Moody's said.
Several of the Landesbanks—a network of state-controlled lenders that mainly offer commercial banking services to Germany's small and mid-size companies—were forced to take state aid during the 2008 financial crisis.
For years, Landesbanks have come under pressure from private banks and the federal government to consolidate or privatize, but local politicians, whose powerful state governments own various stakes in the banks, have resisted.
The banks served as a useful political tool for decades, providing loans for infrastructure and other projects, as well as well-paid jobs to constituents. Until 2005, the banks were able to borrow cheaply with state guarantees, and they invested heavily in subprime assets and real estate before the financial crisis.
Following the financial crisis, four of these banks required about €166 billion ($225 billion) in state aid from their owners and the German government, receiving capital injections and guarantees. One bank moved assets to a so-called bad bank. The lenders are now in various phases of restructuring mandated by the European Commission as a condition for approval of the aid.
The commission has made it harder for banks to take state aid, Moody's said, but argued that the banks remain "ultimately government owned." Even after the downgrades, the banks' senior ratings still assume that government support is likely, Moody's said.
Moody's downgraded Dekabank by one notch, and Helaba, SaarLB and HSH Nordbank by two notches. BayernLB, Deutsche Hypothekenbank AG, LBBW, NordLB, NordLB Luxembourg and BremerLB were downgraded by three notches.
LBBW declined to comment. The other banks didn't respond to requests for comment late Wednesday evening.
LBBerlin's rating was confirmed. WestLB's review is still pending as it goes through an EU-mandated restructuring process.
Moody's also downgraded the short-term ratings of six of the banks to Prime 2, including that of WestLB. "Given that we are in a special transformation process, we do not expect this change to our short-term rating to have any effect," said WestLB spokesman Richard Bassett