On Aug. 8, 2002, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services placed its single-'A'-plus counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Germany-based R+V Versicherung AG (RVV) on CreditWatch with negative implications. The rating action follows the lowering of the ratings on parent company DZ Bank Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank AG (DZ Bank) to single-'A'-minus/'A-2' from singleû'A'/'A-1' on Aug. 7, 2002. The financial strength of RVV, the holding and reinsurance company of the R+V group, derives mainly from its core subsidiaries, R+V Lebensversicherung AG (RVL; Api/--/--) and R+V Allgemeine Versicherung AG (A+pi/--/--). As a 78% subsidiary of DZ Bank, however, and an integral part of the German cooperative banking sector, RVV is affected by the steadily declining profitability levels and deteriorating asset quality of
