LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) July 23, 2001--Following the closure and EU approval of Allianz AG's acquisition of Dresdner Bank AG (AA-/Stable/A-1+), Standard&Poor's today lowered its long-term ratings on Munich-based Allianz and various related entities one notch, predominantly to double-'A'-plus from triple-'A'. The ratings were also removed from CreditWatch, where they had been placed on April 2, 2001, following the announcement that Allianz proposed to bid for Dresdner, to create an integrated financial services group. The outlook is stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'A-1'-plus short-term ratings on Allianz and its units. (See list below for all ratings.) Dresdner has a considerably weaker credit profile than the existing Allianz Group. Since it will represent