OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has withdrawn the ratings of 26 co-operative banks after they were merged during 2015 into other members of the Genossenschaftliche FinanzGruppe (GFG, Germany's cooperative banking group, AA-/Stable/F1+). In 2015 three members of the GFG were also dissolved.

Fitch rates all 1,033 members of the group's institutional protection scheme (IPS), in line with Fitch's Global Bank Rating Criteria. Members include largely small, regional Volks- and Raiffeisenbanks and GFG's central institutions, DZ BANK AG (Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank) and WGZ BANK AG (Westdeutsche Genossenschafts-Zentralbank).

KEY RATING DRIVERS
The ratings were withdrawn because the 29 banks and institutions no longer exist as separate entities following their merger into GFG. As a result Fitch will no longer provide ratings or analytical coverage of the below issuers.

RATING SENSITIVITIES
Not applicable

The list of banks whose Long- and Short-term IDRs at 'AA-' with Stable Outlook and 'F1+' respectively were withdrawn are as follows:

Volksbank Oelde-Ennigerloh-Neubeckum eG
Volksbank Kaunitz eG
RBank Raiffeisenbank Gross-Rohrheim eG
Volksbank Nahe-Schaumberg eG
VR Bank Saarpfalz eG
Raiffeisenbank Heidenheimer Alb eG
Korber Bank eG
Raiffeisenbank Weissacher Tal eG
VR-Bank Alb eG
Volksbank Balingen eG
Raiffeisenbank Weil und Umgebung eG
Raiffeisenbank suedoestl. Starnberger See eG
Raiffeisenbank Lech-Ammersee eG
VR-Bank Burghausen-Muehldorf eG
Raiffeisenbank Dietenhofen eG
VR-Bank Rothenburg o.d.Tbr. eG
Geraer Bank eG
Volksbank Hildesheim eG
Heinsberger Volksbank AG
Raiffeisenbank eG Aldenhoven
Raiffeisenbank Haunetal eG
Volksbank Hochwald-Saarburg eG
Raiffeisenbank Oberessendorf eG
Raiffeisenbank Eberhardzell-Ummendorf eG
Volksbank Neu-Ulm eG
VR-Bank Rhoen-Grabfeld eG

The list of members of GFG whose Long- and Short-term IDRs of 'AA-' with Stable Outlook and 'F1+' respectively were withdrawn because the entities were dissolved are as follows:

Quoniam Asset Management GmbH
Union Investment Privatfonds GmbH
Union Investment Institutional GmbH.