Fitch Ratings has affirmed S-Finanzgruppe Hessen-Thueringen’s (S-Verbund HT) Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘A+’ with a Stable Outlook. The Viability Rating (VR) has also been affirmed at ‘a+’. The agency has also affirmed the ratings of S-Verbund HT’s largest member Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen Girozentrale (Helaba), as well as the Irish subsidiary of the regional savings banks associations (Sparkassen- und Giroverband Hessen-Thueringen, SGVHT) – NASPA Dublin.
S-Verbund HT is a banking group comprising 50 savings banks in the federal states of Hesse and Thuringia represented by the SGVHT and Helaba which is 85%-owned by SVGHT. S-Verbund HT integrates retail banking in Hesse and Thuringia via its savings banks with commercial wholesale banking services provided by Helaba.
S-Verbund HT’s IDR equates to its VR but is also at the same level as its Support Rating Floor (SRF). The affirmation of the group’s VR reflects its strong and diversified franchise in the states of Hessen and Thueringen, its clear strategy with resilient core profitability, stable retail funding, sound capitalisation and a robust track record through the financial crises. At the same time, Fitch highlights Helaba’s exposure to the commerial real estate markets in Hessen, New York and London, exposure to weakening European sovereigns and financial institutions as well as ship financing. Fitch notes that these pockets of potential low likelihood high-impact risks are balanced by the loss-absorbing resources of Helaba and the entire group.
