The Group’s primary currency in which debt is denominated is the euro. A portion of the euro debt, however, is translated into foreign currencies by way of derivative financial instruments in order to cover our operating companies’ liquidity requirements. When such transactions are taken into account, the portion of the Group’s net debt denominated in euros was 55% (previous year: 51%), and the US dollar share was 40% (previous year: 18%). The larger share in US dollars is a result of the increased financial requirements of our American subsidiaries.

Guarantees and letters of support

Deutsche Post AG provides collateral as necessary by issuing letters of support or guarantees for the loan agreements, leases and supplier contracts entered into by Group companies. This practice allows better conditions to be negotiated locally. Such collateral is provided and monitored centrally.

Creditworthiness of the Group

Credit ratings represent an independent and current assessment of a company’s credit standing. The ratings are based on a quantitative analysis and measurement of financial reports and the underlying planning data. Qualitative factors, such as industry-specific features and the company’s market position and range of products and services, are also taken into account. The creditworthiness of our Group is reviewed on an ongoing basis by international rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service. We believe that it is sufficient to receive ratings from two independent ratings agencies. We thus decided, for reasons of economy, to terminate the agreement with the third agency (Fitch Ratings) as at 31 December 2008.

Standard & Poor’s has issued a long-term credit rating of BBB+ together with a negative outlook. This places us at the upper end of category BBB, which is the ranking for companies whose capacity to meet their financial commitments is considered adequate. The outlook is an assessment of the direction the rating is likely to take in the medium term. Our short-term credit rating according to Standard & Poor’s is a solid A–2.

Moody’s ranks our long-term creditworthiness as A3, which is in the lower range of category A. The current outlook is negative. The agency gives us the second highest possible short-term credit rating, namely P–2.

Detailed analyses by the rating agencies and full information on the rating categories are contained on our website.

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