FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 15, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it placed its 'BBB+/A-2' sovereign credit rating on the Republic of Hungary on CreditWatch with negative implications. Standard&Poor's also said that in conjunction with this rating action, it placed its 'BBB+/A-2' issuer credit rating on the City of Budapest on CreditWatch negative. "The CreditWatch placement reflects our concerns over mounting financial-sector funding pressures and their potential to raise general government debt materially from its current level of 67% of GDP," explained Standard&Poor's credit analyst Kai Stukenbrock. "Domestic and foreign-owned banks are facing sharply higher financing costs and reduced access to international markets." These institutions' weakened funding profile stems not only from the
