LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) July 14, 1999--Standard&Poor's today revised to negative from stable the outlooks on Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG (HypoVereinsbank) and its five mortgage-bank subsidiaries: Bayerische Handelsbank AG, Nuernberger Hypothekenbank AG, Sueddeutsche Bodencreditbank AG, Westfaelische Hypothekenbank AG, and Wuerttembergische Hypothekenbank AG. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its ratings on HypoVereinsbank, its five mortgage-bank subsidiaries, and Hypovereinsbank Ireland (see list below). The rating actions mainly reflect uncertainties regarding HypoVereinsbank's ability to exploit the expected potential of merger-related cost savings and revenue synergies, and to reduce provisioning needs to the extent and within the time frame initially expected. This has to be seen against the background of an increasingly difficult competitive environment, and continuing
