On June 24, 2016, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BBB/A-2' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Germany-based building savings bank BHW Bausparkasse AG Hameln. We subsequently withdrew all the ratings at the bank's request, including those on the bank's senior unsecured and subordinated debt. The outlook was stable at the time of the withdrawal. The affirmation reflects our view that BHW remains strategically important to its intermediate parent, Deutsche Postbank AG (Postbank), for which it is a key vehicle to distribute mortgage loans. The affirmation also incorporates our unchanged assessment of Postbank's creditworthiness, for which strengthened capitalization offsets pressure on earnings from the ultra-low interest rate environment. These factors result in our one-notch uplift to the ratings on BHW,
