On Nov. 21, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised to negative from stable its outlook on Germany-based Volkswagen Bank GmbH--a leading domestic retail and car finance company and one of Germany's largest direct banks. At the same time, its 'A/A-1' long-term and short-term counterparty credit ratings were affirmed. In addition, we affirmed the 'A-/A-2' long-term and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Germany-based Volkswagen Financial Services AG (VWFS), which is a core and captive subsidiary of German automaker Volkswagen AG (VW; A-/Stable/A-2) and VW Bank's sole owner. The outlook remains stable. The outlook revision on VW Bank reflects our concerns that its solid financial and risk profile could more than somewhat moderately weaken due to economic slowdowns and deteriorating credit
