TOKYO (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 1, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Aozora Bank Ltd.'s (BBB+/Positive/A-2) investment in General Motors Corp.'s (GM; B/Watch Neg/B-3) finance subsidiary GMAC LLC (BB+/Developing/B-1) would not affect the ratings on the bank. On Nov. 30, 2006, Aozora Bank announced that it would invest $500 million in GMAC, purchasing 3% of the finance company's shares. The bank is to participate in a consortium of investors that purchased 51% of GMAC shares from GM, which is undergoing corporate rehabilitation. Standard&Poor's expects the investment will be manageable for Aozora Bank as it has solid capitalization, underpinned by a strong 19% Tier 1 capital ratio as of Sept. 30, 2006, which is the highest among
