On Dec. 9, 2002, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long- and short-term counterparty credit and certificate of deposit ratings on Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG (HVB) and Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG (BA) to 'A-/A-2' from 'A/A-1'. The outlook is negative. At the same time, the ratings on HVB and BA were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed on Oct. 24, 2002, following weaker-than-expected third-quarter results and the announcement concerning the spin-off of HVB's mortgage bank subsidiaries. In addition, the 'AAA' ratings on Öffentliche Pfandbriefe issued by HVB and the 'AA+' ratings on BA's guaranteed obligations were affirmed. (For rating actions on related mortgage bank entities please see separate press release entitled "Ratings on Four of Bayerische Hypo-
