Various German Banks Downgraded On Persistent Profitability Challenges And Slow Digitalization Progress

We anticipate that German banks' asset quality and capitalization will likely remain robust, supported by the German economy's resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, we believe the pandemic has exacerbated challenges facing the German banking sector, and that German banks are now less competitive relative to global peers' due to slow progress improving revenue diversification, cost structures, and digitalization. As a result, we have downgraded a number of Germany-based, non-government-related banks where our ratings did not already reflect these challenges. FRANKFURT (S&P Global Ratings) June 24, 2021--S&P Global Ratings today said that it has lowered by one notch the long-term issuer credit ratings on the following Germany-based banks: The Cooperative Banking Sector Germany and its related core members; DekaBank Deutsche

...June 24, 2021 - We anticipate that German banks' asset quality and capitalization will likely remain robust, supported by the German economy's resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic. - Nevertheless, we believe the pandemic has exacerbated challenges facing the German banking sector, and that German banks are now less competitive relative to global peers' due to slow progress improving revenue diversification, cost structures, and digitalization. - As a result, we have downgraded a number of Germany-based, non-government-related banks where our ratings did not already reflect these challenges. FRANKFURT (S&P Global Ratings) June 24, 2021--S&P Global Ratings today said that it has lowered by one notch the long-term issuer credit ratings on the following Germany-based banks: - The Cooperative Banking Sector Germany and its related core members; - DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale; - Core members of S-Finanzgruppe Hessen-Thueringen including Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen Girozentrale (Helaba) and...

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