PARIS (Standard&Poor's) May 8, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it placed its 'A-' long-term counterparty credit rating on Dutch bank LeasePlan Corporation N.V. on CreditWatch with negative implications. The 'A-2' short-term rating was affirmed. The CreditWatch placement follows a similar rating action on German automotive group Volkswagen AG (VW; A-/Watch Neg/A-2), which owns 50% of LeasePlan via its wholly owned captive finance arm Volkswagen Bank GmbH (VW Bank; A/Watch Neg/A-1) (see article "German Carmaker Volkswagen And Swedish Truck Subsidiary Scania 'A-' Ratings Put On Watch Negative Re Porsche Merger," published today on RatingsDirect). VW is currently negotiating with two Gulf-based investors, Mubadala Development Co. PJSC (AA/Stable/A-1+) and the Olayan Group (not rated), for the remaining 50%
