(The following statement was released by the rating agency) Link to Fitch Ratings' Report: Laender 46 http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=785769 FRANKFURT/LONDON/WARSAW, September 30 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned Laender 46's EUR1bn bonds, due 30 September 2024, a final 'AAA' Long-term rating. The bonds were issued by a group of seven German federated states (Laender). This is the 46th joint issue of the German Laender and the 34th to be rated by Fitch. KEY RATING DRIVERS The rating reflects the strong support mechanisms that apply to all members of the German Federation, including the seven German federated states involved in the joint issue, and the extensive liquidity facilities they benefit from, which ensure timely debt and debt service payment. The support mechanism apply uniformly to all members of the German Federation: the Federal Republic of Germany (AAA/Stable) represented by the federal government (Bund) and the 16 federated states, which include the seven states undertaking the issue: Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein. All Laender are equally entitled to financial support in the event of financial distress irrespective of differences in economic and financial performances. Each state is liable for its individual share in the issue, the proceeds of which will be divided between the participating states as follows: State of Brandenburg: EUR125m State of Bremen: EUR200m State of Hamburg: EUR125m State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: EUR100m State of Rheinland-Pfalz: EUR125m State of Saarland: EUR125m State of Schleswig-Holstein: EUR200m The State of Schleswig-Holstein is the paying agent. The issue's liquidity is underpinned by the safe cash management system the Laender operate in, which allows overnight cash exchanges between Laender and the Bund when necessary, and recourse to appropriate short-term credit lines. The issue is zero risk-weighted and European Central Bank repo-eligible. The objective of the Laender's jumbo joint issue is to offer investors a sizeable and liquid bond with portfolio exposure to several issuers. RATING SENSITIVITIES A negative rating action would be triggered by a change in the ratings of Germany. Any change in the support scheme would require a review of the rating. The new issue report is available on www.fitchratings.com.">www.fitchratings.com.">www.fitchratings.com.">www.fitchratings.com. Contacts: Primary Analyst Guido Bach Senior Director +49 69 768076 111 Fitch Deutschland GmbH Taunusanlage 17, 60325 Frankfurt am Main Secondary Analyst Dorota Dziedzic Director +48 22 338 62 96 Committee Chairperson Christophe Parisot Managing Director +33 1 44 29 91 34 Media Relations: Peter Fitzpatrick, London, Tel: +44 20 3530 1103, Email: peter.fitzpatrick@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.">www.fitchratings.com.">www.fitchratings.com.">www.fitchratings.com. Applicable criteria 'Tax-Supported Rating Criteria', dated 14 August 2012, and 'International Local and Regional Governments Rating Criteria', dated 23 April 2014, are available at www.fitchratings.com.">www.fitchratings.com.">www.fitchratings.com.">www.fitchratings.com. Applicable Criteria and Related Research: Tax-Supported Rating Criteria http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=686015 International Local and Regional Governments Rating Criteria - Outside the United States http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=719656 Additional Disclosure Solicitation Status http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=885816 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.