The ratings on Deutsche Bank AG are based on its excellent, diversified investment-banking franchise and Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' favorable view of management, which has successfully executed its focused growth strategy. They also reflect the bank's satisfactory performance relative to peers, due to proactive risk management, despite difficult market conditions. The ratings are constrained because the bank's profitability is sensitive to the cyclicality of capital market conditions and it is significantly exposed to deteriorating conditions in the leveraged finance business. In addition, earnings levels in parts of its asset- and wealth-management activities are still only average. Deutsche Bank's 2008 first-quarter results were somewhat weaker than anticipated, with an operating pretax loss of about €1.2 billion. Although the magnitude of
