On Aug. 24, 2004, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised to stable from negative its outlook on Germany-based insurer R+V Versicherung AG (RVV). At the same time, the 'A' long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings were affirmed. The outlook revision is based on the outlook change on its parent, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank (DZ BANK; A-/Stable/A-2; see separate media release entitled "Outlooks on DZ BANK AG and Various Cooperative Banks Revised to Stable; Ratings Affirmed", published on Aug. 24, 2004, on RatingsDirect, Standard&Poor's Web-based credit analysis system). The ratings on RVV are mainly based on the financial strength of its operating subsidiaries, R+V Lebensversicherung AG (RVL; Api/--/--) and R+V Allgemeine Versicherung AG (RVA; Api/--/--), which
