FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 21, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it assigned its 'AAA' ratings to the senior secured Öffentliche Pfandbriefe issued by Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale (Helaba; AA+/Negative/A-1+). The outlook on the issues is stable, irrespective of their final maturity. "The ratings on Helaba's Öffentliche Pfandbriefe primarily reflect the Pfandbriefe collateral and protections afforded by German insolvency and banking laws," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Bernd Ackermann. Helaba--which also issues senior secured Hypothekenpfandbriefe (not rated)--maintains two segregated, revolving collateral pools of credit: one with high-quality, public sector loans, on which the holders of Öffentliche Pfandbriefe have a preferential claim; and a second comprised of high-quality mortgage loans that act as collateral for the Hypothekenpfandbriefe. The amount
