On Nov. 30, 2007, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services raised its long-term counterparty credit ratings on Germany-based Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG (HVB) and related entities to 'A+' from 'A', thus equalizing them with those on HVB's 95.4% owner UniCredito Italiano SpA (UniCredito; A+/Stable/A-1). At the same time, the 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit rating was affirmed. The outlook is stable. The rating action reflects our revision of HVB's group status to core from strategically important due to further progress in HVB's integration into UniCredito and its role as the group's center of competence for capital markets business and Germany. This raises the ratings on HVB by three notches. It also reflects our expectation that HVB's improved financial profile due to