Following a review of Germany's cooperative banking sector under Standard&Poor's revised bank criteria (published Nov. 9, 2011), we have raised our issuer credit ratings on the sector's core members, including central bank DZ BANK, to 'AA-/A-1+' from 'A+/A-1'. The outlook is stable. We continue to view R+V Versicherung AG and KRAVAG-LOGISTIC Versicherungs AG as intrinsic parts of the country's cooperative banking sector and its parent, DZ Bank, under our revised bank group methodology criteria. Accordingly, we are raising our long-term issuer credit ratings on R+V Versicherung AG and KRAVAG-LOGISTIC Versicherungs AG to 'AA-' from 'A+'. The rating actions on both companies are driven solely by the change to the ratings on DZ Bank. The stable outlooks on both
