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Calano invece alcuni rating di Volkswagen Bank sulla scorta di un deterioramento degli asset e della performance attesa in termini di profittevolezza, entrambi suscettibili di protrarsi per il prossimo biennio.
Segnalo che trova conferma una circostanza già emersa in passato, per cui lo status di banca ed il supporto sistemico accordato dagli stati al sistema bancario (oltre al merito di credito superiore rispetto a quello della Casa automobilistica) secondo S&P concorre a consentire la conservazione da parte di VW Bank di un rating un po' più elevato di quello della casa automobilistica, sebbene questa abbia il pieno controllo della banca.
Tale circostanza tuttavia non si estende alla finanziaria VW Financial Services, il cui status di società captive ma di soggetto non bancario esclude che anche ad essa si estendano aspettative di supporto pubblico.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Volkswagen Bank Ratings Lowered To 'A-/A-2' On Deteriorating Asset Quality; VWFS Ratings Affirmed; Outlooks Negative[/FONT]
-- Both VW Bank and VW Financial Services face pressure on margins and their asset quality is deteriorating in the current recessionary environment.
-- We are lowering our ratings on VW Bank to 'A-/A-2'.
-- The outlook is negative, reflecting the potential for a further pressure on its stand-alone credit profile.
-- We are affirming the 'A-' long-term rating on VW Financial Services and the outlook is negative, reflecting its unregulated captive finance company status to the VW group.
FRANKFURT (Standard & Poor's) Aug. 31, 2009--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it revised to 'A-/A-2' from 'A/A-1' its long-term and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Germany-based Volkswagen Bank GmbH (VW Bank), a leading domestic retail and car finance company and one of Germany's largest direct banks. The ratings were removed from CreditWatch where they were placed on May 8, 2009, following a similar rating action on German automaker Volkswagen AG (VW; A-/Negative/A-2). The outlook is negative.
At the same time, we affirmed the 'A-' long-term counterparty credit rating on Germany-based Volkswagen Financial Services AG (VWFS), which is a core and captive subsidiary of German automaker VW and is VW Bank's sole owner. This rating was also removed from CreditWatch negative. The 'A-2' short-term rating on VWFS was affirmed. The outlook is negative.
"The downgrade on VW Bank reflects the deterioration in the bank's stand-alone credit profile in the current economic environment, particularly due to margin pressure and asset quality deterioration," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Dirk Heise.
For the first half of 2009, VW Bank posted declining pretax profits of 1.25% from 1.7% at year-end 2008, relative to risk-weighted assets. For full-year 2009, we expect VW Bank's pretax profits to deteriorate further, owing to higher credit costs in the current recession, increased funding costs that are partly passed on to customers, and much lower contributions from is 50% ownership in LeasePlan Corporation N.V. (A-/Watch Neg/A-2), albeit from high levels.
Although we believe it will face a further rise in credit losses over the next two years, we expect VW Bank to remain profitable. The affirmation of the ratings on VWFS reflects its unregulated captive finance company status to the VW group, which warrants that the ratings on VWFS continue to mirror those on VW.
The negative outlook on VW Bank reflects potential for further pressure on its stand-alone credit profile. "A sharper-than-expected deterioration in credit losses, for instance related to lending to car dealers, resulting in operating losses would lead to a lower stand-alone credit profile," said Mr. Heise.
Conversely, the outlook may be revised to stable irrespective of the negative outlook on its ultimate parent VW if the bank demonstrates resilient performance and asset quality during the downturn and maintains its strong retail deposit funding base.
In case of a downgrade of VW, the rating on VW Bank may be slightly higher than that on its parent, reflecting its banking status, the supportive policy of German authorities, and the bank's own credit strengths, provided intragroup financing does not become material.
The negative outlook on VWFS continues to reflect the outlook on its parent, VW, because the ratings on VWFS are equalized with those on its parent.
Segnalo che trova conferma una circostanza già emersa in passato, per cui lo status di banca ed il supporto sistemico accordato dagli stati al sistema bancario (oltre al merito di credito superiore rispetto a quello della Casa automobilistica) secondo S&P concorre a consentire la conservazione da parte di VW Bank di un rating un po' più elevato di quello della casa automobilistica, sebbene questa abbia il pieno controllo della banca.
Tale circostanza tuttavia non si estende alla finanziaria VW Financial Services, il cui status di società captive ma di soggetto non bancario esclude che anche ad essa si estendano aspettative di supporto pubblico.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Volkswagen Bank Ratings Lowered To 'A-/A-2' On Deteriorating Asset Quality; VWFS Ratings Affirmed; Outlooks Negative[/FONT]
-- Both VW Bank and VW Financial Services face pressure on margins and their asset quality is deteriorating in the current recessionary environment.
-- We are lowering our ratings on VW Bank to 'A-/A-2'.
-- The outlook is negative, reflecting the potential for a further pressure on its stand-alone credit profile.
-- We are affirming the 'A-' long-term rating on VW Financial Services and the outlook is negative, reflecting its unregulated captive finance company status to the VW group.
FRANKFURT (Standard & Poor's) Aug. 31, 2009--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it revised to 'A-/A-2' from 'A/A-1' its long-term and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Germany-based Volkswagen Bank GmbH (VW Bank), a leading domestic retail and car finance company and one of Germany's largest direct banks. The ratings were removed from CreditWatch where they were placed on May 8, 2009, following a similar rating action on German automaker Volkswagen AG (VW; A-/Negative/A-2). The outlook is negative.
At the same time, we affirmed the 'A-' long-term counterparty credit rating on Germany-based Volkswagen Financial Services AG (VWFS), which is a core and captive subsidiary of German automaker VW and is VW Bank's sole owner. This rating was also removed from CreditWatch negative. The 'A-2' short-term rating on VWFS was affirmed. The outlook is negative.
"The downgrade on VW Bank reflects the deterioration in the bank's stand-alone credit profile in the current economic environment, particularly due to margin pressure and asset quality deterioration," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Dirk Heise.
For the first half of 2009, VW Bank posted declining pretax profits of 1.25% from 1.7% at year-end 2008, relative to risk-weighted assets. For full-year 2009, we expect VW Bank's pretax profits to deteriorate further, owing to higher credit costs in the current recession, increased funding costs that are partly passed on to customers, and much lower contributions from is 50% ownership in LeasePlan Corporation N.V. (A-/Watch Neg/A-2), albeit from high levels.
Although we believe it will face a further rise in credit losses over the next two years, we expect VW Bank to remain profitable. The affirmation of the ratings on VWFS reflects its unregulated captive finance company status to the VW group, which warrants that the ratings on VWFS continue to mirror those on VW.
The negative outlook on VW Bank reflects potential for further pressure on its stand-alone credit profile. "A sharper-than-expected deterioration in credit losses, for instance related to lending to car dealers, resulting in operating losses would lead to a lower stand-alone credit profile," said Mr. Heise.
Conversely, the outlook may be revised to stable irrespective of the negative outlook on its ultimate parent VW if the bank demonstrates resilient performance and asset quality during the downturn and maintains its strong retail deposit funding base.
In case of a downgrade of VW, the rating on VW Bank may be slightly higher than that on its parent, reflecting its banking status, the supportive policy of German authorities, and the bank's own credit strengths, provided intragroup financing does not become material.
The negative outlook on VWFS continues to reflect the outlook on its parent, VW, because the ratings on VWFS are equalized with those on its parent.