The financial strength and counterparty ratings on R+V Versicherung AG (RVV) take into account the change of ownership structure, whereby RVV is now 78% owned by the lower rated, newly established DZ Bank Deutsche Zentralgenossenschaftsbank AG (hereafter DZ Bank, A/Negative/A-1), which is Germany's cooperative banking sector's largest central bank. It also reflects Standard & Poor's view of the cooperative sector as a single economic group and must be seen against the background of continuing weak asset quality and pressures on profitability. R+V Group (R+V), which contains the sector's insurance operations, benefits from extremely strong capitalization, well-diversified business lines, and strong distribution capabilities. The extremely strong capital, which is substantially ringfenced, allows RVV's rating to be one notch above that of
