On July 27, 2006, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A' long-term and 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit ratings on Germany-based DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale (DekaBank). The outlook is stable. At the same time, the existing 'AA' guaranteed debt ratings on DekaBank were affirmed. The unguaranteed counterparty ratings on Germany-based DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale (DekaBank) continue to be based on the expectation of ongoing implicit support from its owners, savings banks and Landesbanks, as Standard&Poor's regards DekaBank as an integral part of the German savings banks sector due to its role as their central mutual-fund asset manager. DekaBank has a strong, albeit weakened, market position--with €141 billion in assets under management (AuM) at Dec. 31, 2005, it remains the second-largest
