...FRANKFURT (S&P Global Ratings) March 5, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that it has raised its ratings on the grandfathered guaranteed senior subordinated debt of German Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen Girozentrale (Helaba) to '##' from '##-'. Some of Helaba's obligations are supported by the grandfathered statutory guarantees (GewShrtrSgerhaftung) of its government owners, the states of Hesse and Thuringia, as well as by the savings banks in those states. Our upgrade of these instruments follows that of Hesse on March 2, 2018 ("German State of Hesse Long-Term Rating Raised To '##+' On Improved Finances; Outlook Stable," published on RatingsDirect). Because the grandfathering guarantee does not explicitly state that any payment will be on time, we continue to believe that timeliness of payment hinges on the owners' strong ongoing commitment. We regard Hesse as the strongest guarantor of Helaba's debt instruments. In our view, the grandfathered debt benefits from an extremely high likelihood...
