FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) July 20, 2007--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed its 'A/A-1' long-term and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Germany-based DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale (DekaBank). The outlook is stable. "The ratings on DekaBank are supported by its improved stand-alone profile," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Stefan Best. "The bank's strong--albeit in recent years somewhat weakened--market position within the German mutual funds market, which strongly benefits from DekaBank's role as the central mutual-fund asset manager of the German savings banks sector, further underpin the ratings." Although Standard&Poor's continues to believe in the ongoing implicit support from its owners, savings banks and Landesbanks, the ratings on DekaBank no longer incorporate one notch of extraordinary ownership
