FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 15, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the ratings and outlook on Germany-based BHW Bausparkasse AG (BHW B; A-/Negative/A-2) remain unchanged following the announcement by the group parent BHW Holding AG (not rated) that it will acquire another 10.4% in Allgemeine Hypothekenbank Rheinboden AG (AHBR; BBB-/Negative/A-3) and subsequently write down its existing 39.5% stake in AHBR in consolidated BHW group accounts by more than €100 million in the lead-up to the planned sale of AHBR over the coming months. The ratings on BHW B already reflect the expectation that a sale of BHW Holding's stake in AHBR should be significantly below AHBR's current book value of equity. Furthermore, the decision to raise its
