The ratings on Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen (Helaba) and the 50 savings banks in the German states of Hesse and Thuringia (Savings Banks)--collectively "S-Finanzgruppe Hessen-Thueringen" (SFHT)--are based on Standard&Poor's Ratings Services view of the SFHT as a cohesive, single economic group, and reflect the aggregate financial strength of its member banks. Standard&Poor's expects that improving cooperation and integration will further enhance the banks' financial strength. Helaba and the 50 savings banks in Hesse and Thuringia represent the SFHT's key member institutions. The SFHT benefits from the savings banks' very strong capitalization, strong regional market position, stable retail deposit base, and their good profitability, which is recovering from relatively high loan-loss provisions (LLPs) in previous years. These strengths are
