On April 22, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A' long-term and 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit ratings on the members of Germany's Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Hessen-Thueringen (SFHT). Rated members of the SFHT are the 50 savings banks in the states of Hessen and Thuringia and their central institution Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen Girozentrale (Helaba). The outlook remains positive. The ratings affirmation and positive outlook reflect Helaba's improving earnings levels. They also reflect Helaba's and the savings banks' very limited direct exposure to the current dislocations in global financial markets. Helaba's earnings performance is underpinned by strong double-digit growth in operating profit in 2007, a strong pipeline of new business for 2008, low exposure to structured credit, and early indications of a successful
