On March 31, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A-' long-term and 'A-2' short-term counterparty credit and certificate of deposit ratings on Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG (HVB) and Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG (BA). The outlook is negative. 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 media release entitled "Two HVB Group Subs Ratings Cut to 'BBB'; Four Subs Put on Watch With Varying Implications", published on March 31, 2003, on RatingsDirect, Standard&Poor's Web-based credit analysis system.) The rating actions follow HVB's announcement of its plans to facilitate the envisaged spin-off of
