Sector cohesiveness and limited protection scheme Sound sector capitalization Strong retail market penetration in Hesse and Thuringia Stable retail deposit base of the savings banks Prudent underwriting standards Weaknesses in high-margin retail growth products Savings banks' high and inflexible cost base exposed to margin erosion Lack of adequate incentives to improve profitability Helaba's modest profitability levels and reliance on wholesale funding, partly due to its role as wholesale central bank The ratings on the members of Germany's Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Hessen-Thueringen (SFHT), which includes the 50 savings banks in the states of Hesse (AA/Stable/A-1+) and Thuringia (not rated) and their central institution Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen Girozentrale (Helaba), are based on Standard&Poor's Ratings Services view of SFHT as a single, cohesive economic
