LONDON -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 6/10/96 -- Standard&Poor's today has affirmed its triple-`A' senior unsecured debt rating and `A-1'- plus short-term rating of Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen (Helaba) and its subsidiaries (see list below), and revises the outlook to negative from stable. Helaba's rating is the same as the rating of the German federal state of Hesse, reflecting the indirect support the bank receives from the state through a complex chain of liability, that runs from the state's Savings Banks Association via savings banks and municipalities to the state itself. The triple-`A' rating on the State of Hesse reflects the state's well- diversified economy, strong economic performance, good long-term prospects and above-average income levels -- factors that continuously strengthened
