LONDON -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 12/12/97 -- Standard&Poor's today affirmed its triple-'A' long-term and 'A-1'-plus short-term counterparty credit ratings, as well as its triple-'A' senior debt and 'A-1'-plus commercial paper ratings on the Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen Girozentrale (Helaba) and related entities, see table below. At the same time, the implicit triple-!APOS;A!APOS;/!APOS;A-1!APOS;-plus ratings of the state of Hesse, as the supporting entity for Helaba, are affirmed. The outlook on all the ratings is revised to stable from negative. Via a chain of liabilities extending from the sole owner of the bank (the Hesse-Thueringia Savings Bank and Giro Association) through the state's savings banks and municipalities, the state would be expected to provide support for the bank in the unlikely
