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        T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                           E U R O P E

          Friday, September 11, 2009, Vol. 10, No. 180

                            Headlines

A U S T R I A

FZG FREIZEITBETRIEBE: Claims Filing Deadline is September 22
IVA EDELHOLZBOEDEN: Claims Filing Deadline is September 22
LAURA ASHLEY: Claims Filing Deadline is September 21
SHS GMBH: Claims Filing Deadline is September 22
T & R HANDEL: Claims Filing Deadline is September 22

TC BAU: Claims Filing Deadline is September 22


E S T O N I A

SWEDBANK AS: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to D-


F R A N C E

HEART OF LA DEFENSE: Court Extends Bankruptcy Protection
NORTEL NETWORKS: Soliciting Bids for GSM/GSM-R Business
TERR'LOIRE: Taken Over by Agralys Following Bankruptcy


G E R M A N Y

CONTINENTAL AG: Appoints Wolfgang Reitzle as New Chairman
ESCADA AG: Seeks Buyer for Whole Company, US Lawyer Says
GENERAL MOTORS: To Sell Majority Stake in Opel to Magna
HOLZINDUSTRIE PREDING: Rescued by Hasslacher Norica Timber


I R E L A N D

EUROCREDIT CDO: Moody's Junks Rating on Class E Notes
ULSTER BANK: Fitch Downgrades Individual Rating to 'D'
ZOE GROUP: High Court Rejects Second Examinership Application


I T A L Y

BANCA ITALEASE: Approves EUR1.2 Bln Rights Offer to Boost Capital
FIAT FINANCE: Fitch Assigns 'BB+' Rating on Senior Bonds
FIAT FINANCE: S&P Assigns 'BB+' Rating on EUR1.25 Bil. Bonds
GIANFRANCO FERRE: To Push Through with Expansion Plans
INTESA SANPAOLO: Mulls 10-Year Euro Bond Sale to Bolster Capital

IT HOLDING: Gianfranco Ferre to Push Through with Expansion Plans


K A Z A K H S T A N

BTA BANK: Creditors Hire Deloitte to Advise on Debt Restructuring
JAINAK-BN LLP: Creditors Must File Claims by September 18
LISTER KROSS: Creditors Must File Claims by September 18
NEFTE GAS: Creditors Must File Claims by September 18
OIL SNUB: Creditors Must File Claims by September 18

STROY PROM: Creditors Must File Claims by September 18


L U X E M B O U R G

ELEX ALPHA: Moody's Cuts Rating on Class E Notes to 'Ca'
OSTREGION INVESTMENTGESELLSCHAFT: Moody's Cuts Ratings to 'Ba2'


N E T H E R L A N D S

SNS REAAL: Moody's Cuts Rating on Capital Securities to 'Ba1'


P O L A N D

KOTLIN: In Liquidation; Owner Agros Nova Mulls Sale


R U S S I A

ALROSA COMPANY: Expects 30% Drop in Sales This Year
EVRAZ GROUP: S&P Downgrades Corporate Credit Rating to 'B+'


S L O V E N I A

ABANKA VIPA: Moody's Expects to Assign Rating on EUR750 Mil. Debt
ABANKA VIPA: Fitch Assigns Rating on EUR750 Million Notes


S P A I N

FONDO DE TITULIZACION: S&P Puts Ratings on Notes on Negative Watch


S W E D E N

SWEDBANK AB: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to D-


S W I T Z E R L A N D

ANTHEM VENTURES: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
CAM&MORE GMBH: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
FORECAST AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
GASTRO-DELIGHTS GMBH: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
KEY-KREDIT AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 15

KPLC GMBH: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
LCM ESTER: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
MENZIN AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
OHA-GERUESTBAU GMBH: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
PETROPLUS HOLDINGS: S&P Affirms 'BB' Corporate Credit Rating

PLANTARIA AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
PROFESSIONAL PROJECT: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
RED'S LEMONGRASS: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
RONDO SPONSOR: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
SCHLUESSEL ITIN: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14

SIERRA OIL: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
TEX-BO AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
TOUCHFON SWITZERLAND: Claims Filing Deadline is September 15
UBS AG: Must Set Aside US$35.5MM for Pursuit Partners Lawsuit
UNIFALC AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14


U K R A I N E

ADAMIN LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
AGROBUDEXPORT LTD: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
AGROTREND-NK-S LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
ATLANT-SOUTH LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
B.S.B. LLC: Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure

BUDINFORMSERVICE LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
COMTRADE LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
DE-CO LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
GRONOS LTD: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
INTER CAR: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13

KOLANA LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
LARS-LTD LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
MIKRIN-LTD LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
NOVOPROJECTSPECIALBUD LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by Sept. 13
OTP BANK: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to 'D-'

PASSAT-CENTER NIKOLAYEV: Creditors Must File Claims by Sept. 13
RAIFFEISEN BANK: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to D-
RONDO-TRADE LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
UKRSIBBANK: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to 'D-'
UKRSOTSBANK: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to 'D-'

VAB BANK: Moody's Junks Senior Unsecured Debt & Deposit Ratings


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

AQUASCUTUM: Acquired by Harold Tillman
INCISIVE MEDIA: Reaches Financial Restructuring Deal with Lenders
LEHMAN BROTHERS: PwC to Meet With LBIE Clients to Mull Options
NATIONAL EXPRESS: Board Allows CVC-Led Consortium to Examine Books
PROMINENT CMBS: Moody's Cuts Rating on Class E Notes to 'Ba3'

WHITE TOWER: Halabi Cos. Gets Wind-Up Orders Over Unpaid Tax
XL LEISURE: CAA Sets Friday Deadline for Claim Refunds

* Pre-Pack Restructurings Rise After Lehman, Says Allen & Overy

* BOOK REVIEW: An Entrepreneurial History of the United States


                         *********


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A U S T R I A
=============


FZG FREIZEITBETRIEBE: Claims Filing Deadline is September 22
------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of FZG Freizeitbetriebe GmbH have until September 22,
2009, to file their proofs of claim.

A court hearing for examination of the claims has been scheduled
for October 6, 2009 at 9:45 a.m.

For further information, contact the company's administrator:

         Dr. Stephan Riel
         Landstrasser Hauptstrasse 1/2
         1030 Wien
         Austria
         Tel: 713 44 33
         Fax: 713 10 33
         E-mail: kanzlei@jsr.at


IVA EDELHOLZBOEDEN: Claims Filing Deadline is September 22
---------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of IVA Edelholzboeden GmbH have until September 22,
2009, to file their proofs of claim.

A court hearing for examination of the claims has been scheduled
for October 7, 2009 at 9:50 a.m.

For further information, contact the company's administrator:

         Dr. Susanne Fruhstorfer
         Seilerstatte 17
         1010 Wien
         Austria
         Tel: 512 57 76
         Fax: 512 5776 50
         E-mail: office@fg-lawyers.at


LAURA ASHLEY: Claims Filing Deadline is September 21
----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Laura Ashley GmbH have until September 21, 2009, to
file their proofs of claim.

A court hearing for examination of the claims has been scheduled
for October 5, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.

For further information, contact the company's administrator:

         Dr. Eva Riess
         Zeltgasse 3/13
         1080 Wien
         Austria
         Tel: 402 57 01-0 Serie
         Fax: 402 5701-21
         E-mail: law@riess.co.at


SHS GMBH: Claims Filing Deadline is September 22
------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Shs GmbH have until September 22, 2009, to file their
proofs of claim.

A court hearing for examination of the claims has been scheduled
for October 6, 2009 at 12:00 p.m.

For further information, contact the company's administrator:

         Dr. Norbert Schopf
         Esteplatz 5/5
         1030 Wien
         Austria
         Tel: 534 90-0
         Fax: 534 90 50
         E-mail: office@schopf-zens.at


T & R HANDEL: Claims Filing Deadline is September 22
----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of T & R Handel GmbH have until September 22, 2009, to
file their proofs of claim.

A court hearing for examination of the claims has been scheduled
for October 6, 2009 at 10:45 a.m.

For further information, contact the company's administrator:

         Mag. Wolfgang Winkler
         Reisnerstrasse 32/12
         1030 Wien
         Austria
         Tel: 715 50 45
         Fax: 715 50 474
         E-mail: office@anwalt-vienna.at


TC BAU: Claims Filing Deadline is September 22
----------------------------------------------
Creditors of TC Bau GmbH have until September 22, 2009, to file
their proofs of claim.

A court hearing for examination of the claims has been scheduled
for October 6, 2009 at 11:40 a.m.

For further information, contact the company's administrator:

         Dr. Andrea Simma
         Favoritenstrasse 22/12a
         1040 Wien
         Austria
         Tel: 504 64 08
         Fax: 504 64 08 22
         E-mail: simma@mitrecht.com


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E S T O N I A
=============


SWEDBANK AS: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to D-
--------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service downgraded the ratings of four Swedish
banks and financial institutions: Nordea Bank AB, Svenska
Handelsbanken AB, Swedbank AB, and Landshypotek AB.

Moody's downgraded the long-term senior debt and deposit ratings
of all these financial entities by one notch, the bank financial
strength ratings of Nordea Bank and Svenska Handelsbanken by two
notches and the BFSRs of Swedbank and Landshypotek by one notch.
In addition the short-term deposit rating of Landshypotek was
downgraded to Prime-2 from Prime-1 while the short-term ratings of
all the remaining entities remained unchanged.

The rating actions conclude the review for possible downgrade
initiated on July 22, 2009, with the exception of that on
Volvofinans Bank AB, which will be concluded separately given the
entity's specific profile as a car consumer finance company.

The full list of rating actions and their specific rationale can
be found below under the name of each reviewed bank.

Moody's adds that details of the rating actions on Nordea's
banking subsidiaries in Denmark, Norway and Finland, which are not
included in the above summary, are provided below.  The same
applies to Swedbank's subsidiaries, Swedbank Mortgage and its
Baltic subsidiary Swedbank AS (Estonia).

The rating actions do not affect the government-backed ratings
that Moody's assigns to the debt instruments benefiting from the
Swedish government guarantee, which remain at Aaa with a stable
outlook in line with the ratings of the Swedish government.

Moody's review, during which it carried out a scenario analysis of
how expected losses would affect asset quality, earnings and
capitalisation, showed that BFSRs would be weakened by further
deterioration in the banks' financial performance as a result of
the economic downturn.  The rating agency's anticipation of
deteriorating asset quality primarily reflects the weakening of
Sweden's highly export-driven economy.  The negative outlook on
all the BFSRs reflects the potential for additional macroeconomic
deterioration beyond Moody's current expectations.

Moody's says that the smaller size of the downgrades of the long-
term debt and deposit ratings than those of the BFSRs were related
to its assessment of the probability of systemic support from the
Swedish government, given the systemic importance of some of these
banks to the domestic banking system.

Further explanation regarding Moody's recalibration framework is
provided in Moody's Press Release dated July 22, 2009, where the
above mentioned Swedish banks were placed on review.

                        Rating of Hybrids

For those banks with downgraded hybrids, the magnitude of the
downgrade was in line with the magnitude of the downgrade of the
senior debt rating and in line with Moody's current methodology.
The only exception to this approach was the hybrid ratings of
Swedbank AB, which were more closely linked to the bank's baseline
credit assessment (BCA, which maps from the BFSR) due to
Swedbank's weaker financial profile, as reflected by its BFSR
being in the D range, as explained in more detail below.

Moody's published a Request for Comment in July 2009 on its
proposed changes to banks' subordinated capital ratings.  If
implemented in their proposed form, the changes could lead to
multi-notch downgrades of hybrids.  Please refer to the Request
for Comment "Moody's Proposed Changes to Bank Subordinated Capital
Ratings" for further details.

                     Rating Actions in Detail

Moody's has taken these rating actions:

                              Nordea

Moody's downgraded Nordea Bank AB's BFSR to C+ (mapping to an A2
BCA) from B.  The outlook on the BFSR is negative.  At the same
time, the BFSRs of Nordea Bank Danmark and Nordea Bank Norge were
downgraded to C (mapping to A3 BCAs) from B-.  The outlook on
Nordea Bank Danmark's BFSR is negative, while the outlook on
Nordea Bank Norge's rating is stable.  Nordea Bank Finland's BFSR
was downgraded to B- (mapping to an A1 BCA) from B.  The outlook
on the Finnish subsidiary's BFSR is stable.

The downgrade of Nordea Bank's BFSR reflects the bank's capital
position in relation to anticipated losses in the credit portfolio
and weakening recurring earnings (pre-provision income in relation
to total assets).

Nordea Bank AB's commercial loan portfolio displays some
concentration towards commercial real estate and large corporates.
Exposure to more risky segments such as shipping and lending to
the Baltic area constitutes less than 5%.  In addition to these
exposures, the bank exhibits concentrated single-name exposure and
exposure to private equity.  The combination of these factors
exerts downward pressure on the bank's Tier 1 capital level, which
stood at 9.9% at the end of June 2009 (under transitional rules
towards Basel II and excluding interim profits).  Earnings are on
a downward trend despite solid net interest income.  These factors
may lead to a BFSR towards the lower end of the C+ range, which is
reflected in the negative outlook.

Moody's downgrade of Nordea Bank Danmark's BFSR mainly reflects
the anticipated losses on its loan portfolio, notably in relation
to Danish agriculture, SME's and larger corporates.  Although the
anticipated losses are not that high, its low capital level would
be pressurized under this scenario and the entity's strength is
more in line with that of the lower range of C rated entities,
which explains the negative outlook.

Nordea Bank Norge's high exposure to shipping and commercial real
estate exerts more pressure on its capital than its earnings can
mitigate, leading to the C BFSR.  However, its capital level is
still better than that of the Danish subsidiary and the rating
therefore carries a stable outlook.

Nordea Bank Finland's B- BFSR is one of the highest in the Nordic
area, reflecting the high capital ratio that enables the bank to
absorb losses under Moody's anticipated scenario.  The main risks
are the commercial property portfolio, large corporates and the
group's Baltic exposure, which are booked in Nordea Bank Finland.

Nordea Bank's debt and deposit ratings were downgraded to Aa2 from
Aa1.  The ratings of the three subsidiaries, Nordea Bank Danmark,
Nordea Bank Finland and Nordea Bank Norge were also downgraded to
Aa2 from Aa1, reflecting the high integration of operations,
coupled with name and reputation risk and the ability of the group
to transfer capital to the subsidiaries if needed.  The outlook on
all the debt and deposit ratings is stable.

The uplift for Nordea Bank's long-term ratings from its BCA
reflects a very high probability of systemic support as a result
of its importance to the Swedish financial sector.  The uplifts
for Nordea Bank Danmark, Nordea Bank Finland and Nordea Bank Norge
reflect very high probabilities of parental support combined with
very high probabilities of systemic support, given that they are
leading banks in their respective countries.

                       Svenska Handelsbanken

Moody's downgraded SH's BFSR to C+ (mapping to an A2 BCA) from B,
with a negative outlook, reflecting the potential of rising credit
costs embedded within its loans, in particular its exposure to
property management companies.  Property management, which
includes commercial real estate, comprised a significant 24% of
SH's loans at the end of June 2009 and, in Moody's view, the
quality of that portfolio could be challenged by the difficult
economic conditions.  Moody's also remains cautious about the
bank's exposure to the overheated property and real estate market
in the UK, although it recognizes the relatively small size of
this exposure compared with the size of its total lending book.

On the positive side, Moody's notes that around one-quarter of
SH's total property management portfolio is related to residential
developments, which carry a lower risk than pure commercial real
estate lenders and that SH's exposure to higher-risk property
development projects is minimal.

Moody's review reflected these positive elements as well as the
bank's traditionally prudent culture, solid underwriting criteria
and relatively stable operating profitability.  However, the high
likelihood of asset quality deterioration, derived from Moody's
scenario analysis, exerts pressure on the bank's credit profile,
in particular on its capitalization, positioning the bank in line
with the upper end of the C range.  Moody's says that SH's credit
profile showed a strong resilience to its base scenario, which is
the key ratings determinant, but that there is significant
pressure on asset quality and capital adequacy under the more
stressed scenario.  While such a scenario is less likely than
Moody's baseline assumptions, the negative outlook on the BFSR
reflects the rating's vulnerability to further deterioration of
the operating environment.

Moody's says that SH's debt and deposit ratings were only
downgraded by one notch because of the bank's leading position in
the Swedish market.  As a result of the rating agency's assessment
of a very high probability of systemic support for SH on the one
hand and the downgrade of the BFSR on the other, the long-term
deposit and senior debt ratings were downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1.
The outlook on these ratings is stable, reflecting the bank's very
high systemic importance and Moody's view that its valuable
franchise will remain intact throughout the crisis.

                            Swedbank AB

Moody's downgraded Swedbank's BFSR to D+ (mapping to a Baa3 BCA)
from C-, with a negative outlook, reflecting pressure exerted by
potential further deterioration in all of Swedbank group's
markets, in particular the Baltic States and Ukraine.  The credit
costs of Swedbank's international exposure have climbed materially
over the past year and, in Moody's assessment, will remain high in
the near term, continuing to severely weaken the bank's
profitability and capitalization.

Moody's previous rating actions already incorporated expected
credit losses from the bank's loan portfolio in Swedbank's
ratings.  However, given a more severe weakening of macro-economic
conditions in the Baltic countries and Ukraine, coupled with
worsened economic conditions in Sweden, the rating agency reviewed
and further increased its loss expectations from its initial
expectations and incorporated those revised assumptions into its
scenario analysis.

The rating agency says that Swedbank's recent decision to raise a
sizeable amount of common equity improves the ability of its
capital base to absorb expected losses.  However, even taking this
into account, Moody's scenario analysis shows that Swedbank's BFSR
is better positioned in the D range, given the upward revision of
the rating agency's loss assumptions for the bank's Baltic
countries credit exposure and the extent of its potential
financial deterioration, particularly under Moody's more severe
scenario.

The negative outlook on the BFSR reflects the possibility that a
more pronounced economic downturn than Moody's currently expects
in the bank's main operating markets could have a direct and
severe impact on Swedbank's credit quality, further weakening its
earnings and capitalization.  Despite the negative rating actions,
Moody's notes that the bank, under new senior management, is
taking more effective and decisive actions to contain and manage
the asset quality downturn and improve the group's organizational
and operational efficiency, and that this could, over time,
improve the bank's risk profile.

Swedbank's deposit and debt ratings were downgraded to A2 from A1
and continue to receive a sizeable uplift from the weak BCA.  This
reflects the bank's key systemic importance to the Swedish banking
sector and therefore Moody's assessment of a very high probability
of systemic support.  The ratings also incorporate the challenges
that the bank faces in maintaining its leading franchise during
the crisis.

Swedbank's hybrid debt was downgraded to Baa2 for the cumulative
junior subordinated debt and Ba1 for the non-cumulative Tier 1
securities.  The wider notching than under Moody's current
methodology reflects the rating agency's observation that
Swedbank's weak earnings prospects have increased the risk of
coupon deferral, although it believes this risk still remains low.
The Tier 1 instrument is rated two notches lower than the
cumulative subordinated debt because of its lower ranking in
liquidation and the greater loss severity of skipped coupons due
to its non-cumulative nature.

The outlook on Swedbank's long-term deposit and debt ratings is
negative, in line with the negative outlook on the BFSR.

The ratings of Swedbank AB's two Ukrainian subsidiaries Public
Joint Stock Company "Swedbank" (rated B3/B1/NP/E) and its
subsidiary Private Joint Stock Company "Swedbank Invest" (rated
B3/B1/NP/E) were not changed as a result of the rating action on
their parent bank.

                        Swedbank Mortgage

As a result of the downgrade of Swedbank's ratings, the senior and
dated subordinated ratings of Swedbank Mortgage were downgraded by
one notch to A2 and A3.

At the same time, Moody's placed all ratings of Swedbank Mortgage,
including its short-term rating of Prime-1, on review for possible
downgrade.  The review of this entity will now focus on assessing
the potential implications for the entity's ratings of the
application of Moody's methodology, entitled "Moody's Approach to
Rating Financial Entities Specialized in Issuing Covered Bonds",
published in August 2009.

Moody's notes that the government-backed short-term P-1 rating
that Moody's assigns to the instruments benefiting from the
Swedish government guarantee remains unchanged and unaffected by
this rating action.

                            Swedbank AS

Moody's downgraded Swedbank AS's BFSR to D- (mapping to a Ba3 BCA)
from D, with a negative outlook, reflecting Moody's view that the
deterioration in the Baltic operating environment is putting
pressure on the bank's financial fundamentals.

Similar to its parent bank, Swedbank AB, Moody's previous rating
actions on Swedbank AS already incorporated expected credit losses
from the bank's loan portfolio in its ratings.  However, the
operating environment in the three Baltic countries has
deteriorated faster than Moody's previously expected.  Therefore,
as explained above, the rating agency reviewed its scenario
analysis assumptions and further increased its loss expectations
(please refer to Moody's Special Comment: "Moody's Approach to
Estimating Baltic Bank's Credit Losses", published in August
2009).

The results of Moody's scenario analysis showed that Swedbank AS's
key credit drivers, in particular its capital adequacy, became
significantly weaker in their respective BFSR categories as a
result of the anticipated deterioration in asset quality.  Moody's
key concerns relate to the bank's exposure to the real estate
management and construction sectors, which together accounted for
around 17% of the loan portfolio at the end of June 2009.  That
said, given the weakening operating environment, the rating agency
expects all industry sectors to be adversely affected.

The downgrade of Swedbank AS's long-term bank deposit and senior
debt ratings to Baa3 reflects the weaker intrinsic financial
strength of the bank, as indicated by the D- BFSR as well as the
downgrade of its parent.  However, Moody's assesses a very high
probability of support from its parent and a moderate probability
of systemic support, which leads to a three-notch uplift for the
deposit and debt ratings from the Ba3 BCA.

Moody's negative outlook on Swedbank AS's ratings reflects the
difficult operating environment in the Baltic region.

                           Landshypotek

Moody's downgraded LH's BFSR to C (mapping to an A3 BCA) from C+.
As LH's deposit ratings do not benefit from any uplift as a result
of Moody's assessment of the probability of systemic support, the
one-notch lowering of the BFSR resulted in a one-notch downgrade
of the deposit ratings, to A3/Prime-2 from A2/Prime-1.

The BFSR downgrade reflects Moody's expectation of deterioration
in LH's asset quality, driven by the weakening of the Swedish
economy.  Moody's scenario analysis showed that LH's satisfactory
capitalisation and exposure to low-risk agriculture lending to
private individuals partly offsets its modest pre-provision
profitability (which results in low capital generation ability),
and therefore limited the downgrade to one notch.

The rating agency notes that LH's BFSR showed good resilience to
the base scenario and considerably higher losses would be needed
for the rating to come under further downward pressure.  However,
Moody's considers that the negative outlook on the BFSR and long-
term deposit rating appropriately reflects potential pressure on
LH under a worsened macro-economic scenario.

                     Rating Actions in Summary

                          Nordea Bank AB

  -- BFSR downgraded to C+ from B, with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit rating downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Subordinate ratings downgraded to Aa3 from Aa2, with stable
     outlook;

  -- Junior subordinate ratings downgraded to A1 from Aa3, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Prime-1 short-term ratings were not affected.

Moody's last rating action on Nordea Bank AB was on July 22, 2009,
when the BFSR and long-term ratings were placed on review for
possible downgrade.

                     Nordea Bank Danmark A/S

  -- BFSR downgraded to C from B-, with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit rating downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Prime-1 short-term ratings were not affected.

Moody's last rating action on Nordea Bank Danmark A/S was on
July 22, 2009, when the BFSR and long-term ratings were placed on
review for possible downgrade.

                      Nordea Bank Norge ASA

  -- BFSR downgraded to C from B-, with stable outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit rating downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Subordinate ratings downgraded to Aa3 from Aa2, with stable
     outlook;

  -- Prime-1 short-term ratings were not affected.

Moody's last rating action on Nordea Bank Norge ASA was on
July 22, 2009, when the BFSR and long-term ratings were placed on
review for possible downgrade.

                     Nordea Bank Finland Plc

  -- BFSR downgraded to B- from B, with stable outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit rating downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Subordinate ratings downgraded to Aa3 from Aa2, with stable
     outlook;

  -- Prime-1 short-term ratings were not affected.

Moody's last rating action on Nordea Bank Finland Plc was on
July 22, 2009, when the BFSR and long-term ratings were placed on
review for possible downgrade.

                      Svenska Handelsbanken

  -- BFSR downgraded to C+ from B, with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings downgraded to
     Aa2 from Aa1, with stable outlook;

  -- Subordinated debt rating downgraded to Aa3 from Aa2, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Hybrid debt rating downgraded to A1 from Aa3, with stable
     outlook;

Moody's last rating action on Svenska Handelsbanken AB was on
July 22, 2009, when the bank financial strength rating and long-
term debt and deposit ratings were placed on review for possible
downgrade.

                            Swedbank AB

  -- BFSR downgraded to D+ (mapping to a BCA of Baa3) from C-,
     with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings downgraded to
     A2 from A1, with negative outlook;

  -- Subordinated debt (Lower Tier 2) downgraded to A3 from A2,
     with negative outlook;

  -- Undated junior subordinated debt (Upper Tier 2) downgraded to
     Baa2 from A2 with negative outlook;

  -- Non-cumulative perpetual capital securities (Tier 1)
     downgraded to Ba1 from A3, with negative outlook;

Moody's last rating action on Swedbank AB was on April 27, 2009,
when BFSR and long-term debt and deposit ratings were placed on
review for possible downgrade.

                       Swedbank Mortgage AB

  -- Long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings downgraded to
     A2 on review for possible downgrade from A1;

  -- Dated subordinated debt rating downgraded to A3, on review
     for possible downgrade, from A2;

  -- Short-term deposit and other short-term debt ratings Prime-1
     on review for possible downgrade.

Moody's last rating action on Swedbank Mortgage AB was on
April 27, 2009, when the senior and unsubordinated debt ratings
were placed on review for possible downgrade.

                           Swedbank AS

  -- BFSR downgraded to D- from D, with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings downgraded to
     Baa3 from Baa2, with negative outlook;

  -- Subordinated debt rating downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, with
     negative outlook;

  -- Short-term deposit and other short-term debt ratings
     downgraded to P-3 from P-2.

Moody's last rating action on Swedbank AS was on April 27, 2009,
when all the ratings were placed on review for possible downgrade.

                         Landshypotek AB

  -- BFSR downgraded to C from C+, with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings downgraded to
     A3 from A2, with negative outlook;

  -- Short-term deposit rating downgraded to P-2 from P-1.

Moody's last rating action on Landshypotek AB was on July 22, 2009
when all the ratings were placed on review for possible downgrade.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Nordea Bank AB reported total
assets of EUR476 billion at the end of June 2009.

Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Nordea Bank Danmark A/S
reported total assets of DKK1,014 billion (EUR136 billion) at the
end of June 2009.

Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Nordea Bank Norge ASA reported
total assets of NOK536 billion (EUR59 billion) at the end of June
2009.

Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Nordea Bank Finland Plc
reported total assets of EUR207 billion at the end of June 2009

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Svenska Handelsbanken AB
reported total consolidated assets of SEK2,155 billion
(EUR198 billion) as of June 30, 2009.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Swedbank AB reported total
consolidated assets of SEK1,796 billion (EUR165 billion) as of
June 30, 2009.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Swedbank Mortgage AB reported
total consolidated assets of SEK802 billion (EUR74 billion) as of
June 30, 2009.

Headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, Swedbank AS reported total
assets of EEK366 billion (EUR23 billion) as of June 30, 2009.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Landshypotek AB reported total
consolidated assets of SEK54 billion (EUR4.9 billion) as of
March 31, 2009.


===========
F R A N C E
===========


HEART OF LA DEFENSE: Court Extends Bankruptcy Protection
--------------------------------------------------------
Chris Bourke at Bloomberg News reports that the French Commercial
Court has extended Heart of la Defense's bankruptcy protection
until 2014.

Bloomberg recalls Heart of la Defense, the holding vehicle of
owners led by the estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., filed
for the protection, known in France as "sauvegarde" in November
after a technical default on the commercial mortgage bonds.

According to Bloomberg, investors representing more than 85% of
notes voted against the voted against the plan proposed by Heart
of la Defense in July as it would have extended the maturity of
the mortgage bonds and given majority control of the building's
rental income to the company.

Bloomberg relates EuroTitrisation, the manager of the Windermere
XII FCT bonds backed by the Paris tower, said in a statement
the court's decision "conflicts not only with the best interests
of the FCT and its note-holders, but also with those of the
commercial property market".


NORTEL NETWORKS: Soliciting Bids for GSM/GSM-R Business
-------------------------------------------------------
Nortel Networks SA is currently soliciting interests for its
GSM/GSM-R business in France, which comprise of these three major
segments:

  1. GSM Access - primarily GSM network infrastructure

  2. GSM/UMTS Voice Core - hardware and software authenticating
     and connecting users to their networks

  3. GSM/UMTS Packet Core - hardware and software authenticating
     and connecting users to their networks

The Versailles Commercial Court opened on May 28, 2009, second
insolvency proceedings or "liquidation with continuity of certain
activities" with respect to Nortel Networks SSA.  In connection
with this, the Administrateur Judiciaire for Nortel Networks SA
is assisting the Company's management in selling its French GSM
or global systems for mobile communications business.

The Versailles Commercial Court must set a deadline for the
submission of offers for Nortel Networks SA's GSM/GSM-R business
from eligible interested parties on September 24, 2009.

Expressions of interest should be made in writing to:

    Lazard & Co, Limited
    50 Stratton Street,
    London WIJ 8LL, UK
    Attn: Ian Mombru

with a copy to:

    Me. Franck Michel
    Adminisrateur Judiciaire
    AJA Associes
    10 allee Pierre de Coubertin
    78000 Versailles (France)
    Email: versailles@AJAssocies.fr
    Tel No.: +33(0) 139-504656
    Fax No.: +33(0) 139-508752

    Me Cosme Rogeau
    Mandataire Judiciaire
    Tel No.: +33(0) 139-495208
    Fax No.: +33(0) 139-494463
    cosmerogeau@wanadoo.fr

    Me Antoine TChekhoff, FTF&A
    1 bis Avenue Foch 75116 Paris
    @fttpa.fr

The Nortel Group sought and obtained an order from the Versailles
Commercial Court in mid-August 2009, for an extension of the
deadline to file a buyer for its French unit through Nov. 30,
according to Bloomberg News.

Headquartered in Chateaufort, Yvelines, France, Nortel Networks
SA is a subsidiary of Nortel Networks Limited in Canada.  It
currently employs 129 workers.  In 2008, Nortel Networks SA's
earnings accounted for roughly 14% of the Nortel Group's
revenues.


TERR'LOIRE: Taken Over by Agralys Following Bankruptcy
------------------------------------------------------
Mike Knowles at Fruitnet.com reports that French agricultural
group Agralys has taken over pre-packed vegetable and potato
specialist Terr'Loire.

According to the report, Terr'Loire will now operate as a branch
of Agralys under the name SAS Societe Nouvelle Terre'loire, and is
to be headed up by former Terr'Loire director Jean-Michel
Favretto.

The report recalls Terr'Loire was placed into receivership at the
beginning of April this year following financial difficulties.  In
May 2008, the company was forced to destroy a significant
proportion of its plants following the discovery of a bacterial
infestation, contributing to an overall annual loss of some EUR2.9
million.


=============
G E R M A N Y
=============


CONTINENTAL AG: Appoints Wolfgang Reitzle as New Chairman
---------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Schafer at The Financial Times reports that Continental AG
has appointed Wolfgang Reitzle, chief executive of Linde, as the
new chairman of the car parts supplier's supervisory board,
replacing Rolf Koerfer.

The FT recalls Mr. Koerfer agreed to resign as Conti's chairman
last month after a boardroom spat in which Schaeffler, Conti's
main shareholder, forced the car parts supplier's chief executive
out.   Mr. Koerfer, a legal adviser to Schaeffler, had come under
fire for not preventing the boardroom clash and siding with
Schaeffler.

"By reorganizing the executive board and now by filling the
position in the supervisory board with a neutral person who comes
from outside the two companies, Continental AG has established the
groundwork required to lead the company into a successful future
together with its major shareholder," the FT quoted Mr. Koerfer as
saying in a statement.

Continent, the FT discloses, has a EUR9.75 billion net debt load
and is bracing itself for tough negotiations with its banks about
a refinancing of the loans.  The company has recently announced
plans to launch a EUR1.5 billion capital increase as early as this
year, the FT relates.

                       About Continental AG

Hanover, Germany-based Continental AG (OTC:CTTAY) --
http://www.conti-online.com/-- is an automotive industry
supplier.  The Company focuses its activities on the development,
production and distribution of products that improve driving
safety, driving dynamics and ride comfort.  It operates in six
divisions.  Chassis and Safety provides active and passive driving
safety, safety and chassis sensor systems, as well as chassis
components.  Powertrain focuses on engine systems, hybrid electric
drives, injection technology, and sensors and actuators, among
others.  Interior manufactures information management modules and
wireless mobile devices.  Passenger and Light Truck Tires provides
tires for passenger cars, motorcycles and bicycles.  Commercial
Vehicle Tires offers tires for trucks, as well as industrial and
off-the-road vehicles.  ContiTech specializes in the rubber and
plastics technology, offering parts, components and systems for
the automotive industry and other sectors.  In January 2009,
Schaeffler KG acquired 49.9% interest in the Company.

                           *     *     *

On Aug. 20, 2009, the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe reported
Fitch Ratings downgraded Continental AG's Long-term Issuer
Default Rating and senior unsecured ratings to 'B+' from 'BB',
respectively.  Fitch simultaneously maintained the IDR and
senior unsecured ratings on Rating Watch Negative.  The agency
affirmed Continental's Short-term IDR at 'B'.  Fitch said the
rating action reflects the considerable refinancing risk faced by
Continental for its EUR3.5 billion tranche, related to its Siemens
VDO acquisition facility, maturing in August 2010, and the
increased risk of a breach in covenants.  Fitch is concerned about
tightened financial covenant headroom due to Continental's
weakened operating performance amid the severe global auto
downturn.  While Continental has stated that it will be able to
comply with financial covenants as of end-H109, Fitch believes
that ongoing compliance will remain challenging if no agreement is
reached with its banks.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on Aug. 18,
2009, Moody's Investors Service downgraded Continental AG's
Corporate Family Rating to B1 from Ba3.  Moody's said the rating
outlook remains negative.


ESCADA AG: Seeks Buyer for Whole Company, US Lawyer Says
--------------------------------------------------------
Gerard C. Bender, Esq., at O'Melveny & Myers LLP, in New York,
representing Escada (USA) Inc., told Judge Stuart Bernstein at a
hearing in Manhattan that Escada AG is seeking a buyer for the
whole company, which would include the U.S. unit.  The proposed
sale's impact on Escada USA's reorganization hasn't been
determined, Mr. Bender said, according to Bloomberg News.  "It
will be similar to 363 sale process, in Germany," Mr. Bender said.
Under a 11 U.S.C. Sec. 363 sale, a company is sold to the highest
bidder free of liens and other legal claims.

As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter on September 9, 2009,
the state of Bavaria said that it was presented with a proposal by
a group of potential investors to buy Escada.

Escada AG's preliminary insolvency administrator, Dr. Christian
Gerloff, said on September 1 that it has commissioned KPMG's
Munich M&A divisions with the task of preparing and accompanying
negotiations with potential investors for the women's fashion
Group.

                          About ESCADA AG

The ESCADA Group -- http://www.escada.com/-- is an international
fashion group for women's apparel and accessories, which is active
on the international luxury goods market.  It has pursued a course
of steady expansion since its founding in 1976 by Margaretha and
Wolfgang Ley and today has 182 own shops and 225 franchise
shops/corners in more than 60 countries.

As of August 10, 2009 the Escada Group operated 176 owned stores
and so-called shop in shops, of which 26 owned stores are located
in the United States and operated by Escada (USA) Inc. and 2
stores are planned to be opened in the United States before year
end.  Escada Group products are also sold in 163 stores worldwide
which are operated by franchisees.  Escada Group had total assets
of EUR322.2 million against total liabilities of 338.9 million as
of April 30, 2009.

ESCADA AG filed of an insolvency petition in Munich, Germany, on
August 13, 2009.  The competent Municipal Court of Munich has
appointed Dr. jur. Christian Gerloff as preliminary insolvency
administrator.

Wholly owned subsidiary Escada (USA) Inc. filed for Chapter 11 on
August 14, 2009 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 09-15008).  O'Melveny &
Myers LLP has been tapped as bankruptcy counsel.  Kurtzman Carson
Consultants serves as claims and notice agent.  Judge Stuart M.
Bernstein handles the case.  Escada US listed US$50 million to
US$100 million in assets and US$100 million to US$500 million in
debts in its petition.


GENERAL MOTORS: To Sell Majority Stake in Opel to Magna
-------------------------------------------------------
Magna International Inc. (TSX: MG.A, NYSE: MGA) and Savings Bank
of the Russian Federation (RTS: SBER, MICEX: SBER03) said their
joint offer to acquire a 55% interest in Adam Opel GmbH has been
selected by both General Motors Company and the Opel Trust as the
preferred solution to address the future of Opel.

Under the offer, the acquired 55% interest in Opel would be owned
50:50 by a Magna/Sberbank consortium with GM retaining a 35%
interest and Opel employees acquiring 10% as part of a new labour
framework. The offer contemplates a total equity investment by the
Consortium of Euro 500 million over time.

"The Consortium is pleased that its plan for Opel has satisfied
General Motors.  Together with General Motors, Opel employees and
Opel dealers, the Consortium will now work hard to lead Opel into
a successful future," said Siegfried Wolf, Magna's Co-Chief
Executive Officer and Herman Gref, Chairman of the Board and Chief
Executive Officer of Sberbank. "Additionally, the Consortium is
grateful to General Motors for the constructive atmosphere during
the negotiations and to those parties which have provided their
support for the Consortium's business plan, including in
particular the German government."

Added Frank Stronach, Magna's Chairman, "Upon the successful
completion of the acquisition Magna will put in place appropriate
"firewalls" in order to ensure a complete separation between its
current auto parts business and Opel so that the confidential and
proprietary information of its customers is fully protected."

Completion of the purchase remains subject to finalization of
definitive agreements and other conditions, including government-
backed financing and regulatory approvals.

Jeff Green, Chris Reiter and Katie Merx at Bloomberg News report
said GM agreed to sell a majority stake in Opel to Magna after
resolving disputes over financing and access to technology.  Magna
and Russian partner OAO Sberbank are backed by German loan
guarantees of EUR4.5 billion (US$6.6 billion).

Citing a person familiar with the talks who asked not to be
identified because details aren’t public, Bloomberg discloses
GM won assurances on funding and its intellectual property.

Bloomberg says Magna’s proposal foresees a linkup with GAZ, which
said in May it wants to make 180,000 Opel cars at its main
Russian site.  Bloomberg relates GM Group Vice President John
Smith said on a conference call GAZ probably will take over
Sberbank's Opel share within a year.  Mr. Smith, as cited by
Bloomberg, said the sale should be completed by Nov. 30, and Opel
probably will return to profit in 2011.

Bernard Simon John Reed, Daniel Schaefer and Bertrand Benoit at
The Financial Times report that the Magna deal fits GM's new
vision.  The FT recalls since taking the helm at GM six months
ago, Fritz Henderson has repeatedly said that the Detroit
carmaker's future as a force in the global motor industry will lie
in a growing number of partnerships and alliances.

                           Turnaround

Andreas Cremer and Chris Reiter at Bloomberg News report that
Magna may have a hard time cutting labor costs to meet a target
to return the European carmaker to profit within two years.

Magna, Bloomberg discloses, pledged to keep all of Opel's four
German sites, whose workforce accounts for about half of GM
Europe's total, open even as it seeks to wring US$1 billion in
concessions from unions.  According to Bloomberg, to save more of
Opel's 25,000 German jobs, Magna plans to move some production  to
Eisenach from a factory in Spain, even though wages are lower than
in Germany.

Bloomberg relates Mr. Smith, GM's chief negotiator for Opel, said
yesterday Magna is likely to shutter Opel's plant in Antwerp,
Belgium.  He, however, said a factory in Ellesmere Port, England,
has a long-term future "for sure" and that he's "optimistic" about
Luton, England, staying open, Bloomberg notes.

German unions say concessions are contingent on a business plan
for Opel as well as pledges to shun closures and dismissals,
Oliver Burkhard, head of the German IG Metall union's chapter in
North Rhine-Westphalia, where Opel employs about 5,300
workers at the Bochum plant, as cited by Bloomberg, said.

"We don't have any illusions, it won't be a walk in the park with
Magna," Bloomberg quoted Mr. Burkhard as saying in a statement.

                           Vauxhall

The FT reports Lord Mandelson, business secretary, said yesterday
that he was confident jobs were safe at Vauxhall's plants in the
UK following the sale of GM's European business to Magna and
Russia's Sberbank.

The FT relates Lord Mandelson said he was satisfied with the deal.
According to the FT, the busines secretary said he had received
assurances from Magna and its chief executive that it was
"committed to both plants".

"I've had four face-to-face meetings with the Magna CEO over the
last couple of months.  I take him at face value and I take him at
his word.  The government will now discuss our share of the
funding," the FT quoted Lord Mandelson as saying.

                     About General Motors

Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, General Motors Corp.
(NYSE: GM) -- http://www.gm.com/-- was founded in 1908.  GM
employs about 266,000 people around the world and manufactures
cars and trucks in 35 countries.  In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM
cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands:
Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel,
Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling.  GM's OnStar
subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and
information services.

GM Europe is based in Zurich, Switzerland, while General Motors
Latin America, Africa and Middle East is headquartered in Miramar,
Florida.

As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter, GM reported net loss
of US$6.0 billion, including special items, in the first quarter
of 2009.  This compares with a reported net loss of US$3.3 billion
in the year-ago quarter.  As of March 31, 2009, GM had
US$82.2 billion in total assets and US$172.8 billion in total
liabilities, resulting in US$90.5 billion in stockholders'
deficit.

General Motors Corporation and three of its affiliates filed for
Chapter 11 protection on June 1, 2009 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case
No. 09-50026).  The Honorable Robert E. Gerber presides over the
Chapter 11 cases.  Harvey R. Miller, Esq., Stephen Karotkin, Esq.,
and Joseph H. Smolinsky, Esq., at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP,
assist the Debtors in their restructuring efforts.  Al Koch at AP
Services, LLC, an affiliate of AlixPartners, LLP, is the Debtors'
restructuring officer.  GM is also represented by Jenner & Block
LLP and Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP as counsel.

Cravath, Swaine, & Moore LLP is providing legal advice to the GM
Board of Directors.  GM's financial advisors are Morgan Stanley,
Evercore Partners and the Blackstone Group LLP.

General Motors changed its name to Motors Liquidation Co.
following the sale of its key assets to a company 60.8% owned by
the U.S. Government.

Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., publishes General Motors
Bankruptcy News.  The newsletter tracks the Chapter 11 proceeding
undertaken by General Motors Corp. and its various affiliates.
(http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000)


HOLZINDUSTRIE PREDING: Rescued by Hasslacher Norica Timber
----------------------------------------------------------
EUWID reports that Hasslacher Norica Timber has rescued
Holzindustrie Preding from bankruptcy.

According to the report, Holzindustrie Preding reached agreement
with creditors on a continuation and restructuring concept on the
basis of a compulsory settlement.  The report says a new company
was founded as a part of this concept, which now trades under the
name of Hasslacher Preding Holzindustrie GmbH and started
operations on September 1, 2009.


=============
I R E L A N D
=============


EUROCREDIT CDO: Moody's Junks Rating on Class E Notes
-----------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has taken these rating actions on notes
issued by Eurocredit CDO VI PLC.

Issuer: Eurocredit CDO VI PLC

  -- EUR125M Class A-R Senior Secured Revolving Floating Rate
     Notes due 2022 Notes, Downgraded to Aa2; previously on
     Dec. 22, 2006 Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa

  -- EUR210M Class A-T Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
     2022 Notes, Downgraded to Aa2; previously on Dec. 22, 2006
     Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa

  -- EUR33.5M Class B Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2022
     Notes, Downgraded to Baa1; previously on March 4, 2009 Aa2
     Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade

  -- EUR30M Class C Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate Notes
     due 2022 Notes, Downgraded to Ba2; previously on March 19,
     2009 Downgraded to Baa3 and Remained On Review for Possible
     Downgrade

  -- EUR24M Class D Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate Notes
     due 2022 Notes, Confirmed at B1; previously on March 19, 2009
     Downgraded to B1 and Remained On Review for Possible
     Downgrade

  -- EUR20M Class E Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate Notes
     due 2022 Notes, Downgraded to Caa2; previously on March 19,
     2009 Downgraded to B3 and Remained On Review for Possible
     Downgrade

This transaction is a managed cash leveraged loan collateralized
loan obligation with exposure to predominantly European senior
secured loans, as well as some mezzanine loan exposure.

The rating actions reflect Moody's revised assumptions with
respect to default probability and the calculation of the
diversity score as described in the press release dated
February 4, 2009, titled "Moody's updates key assumptions for
rating CLOs." These revised assumptions have been applied to all
corporate credits in the underlying portfolio, the revised
assumptions for the treatment of ratings on "Review for Possible
Downgrade", "Review for Possible Upgrade", or with a "Negative
Outlook" being applied to those corporate credits that are
publicly rated.

Moody's also notes that a material proportion of the collateral
pool consists of debt obligations whose credit quality has been
assessed through Moody's credit estimates.  As credit estimates do
not carry credit indicators such as ratings reviews and outlooks,
a stress of a quarter notch-equivalent assumed downgrade was
applied to each of these estimates.

According to Moody's, the rating actions taken on the notes are
also a result of credit deterioration of the underlying portfolio.
This is observed through a decline in the average credit rating as
measured through the portfolio weighted average rating factor
'WARF', an increase in the amount of defaulted securities and an
increase in the proportion of securities from issuers rated Caa1
and below.  Moody's also performed a number of sensitivity
analyses, including consideration of a further decline in
portfolio WARF quality.

In addition to the quantitative factors that are explicitly
modelled, qualitative factors are part of the rating committee
considerations.  These qualitative factors include the structural
protections in each transaction, the recent deal performance in
the current market environment, the legal environment, specific
documentation features, the collateral manager's track record, and
the potential for selection bias in the portfolio.  All
information available to rating committees, including
macroeconomic forecasts, input from other Moody's analytical
groups, market factors, and judgments regarding the nature and
severity of credit stress on the transactions, may influence the
final rating decision.


ULSTER BANK: Fitch Downgrades Individual Rating to 'D'
------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Northern Ireland-based Ulster Bank
Limited's Long-term Issuer Default Rating at 'A+' with a Stable
Outlook.  The agency has simultaneously downgraded UBL's
Individual Rating to 'D' from 'C/D' and placed it on Rating Watch
Negative.  Fitch has affirmed the bank's Short-term IDR at 'F1+',
Support Rating at '1', and taken similar rating actions on the
bank's subsidiaries.  A full rating breakdown is provided at the
end of this comment.

"The downgrade of UBL's Individual Rating, and two of its
subsidiaries' Individual Ratings, reflects the continuing
deterioration in asset quality and, therefore, a potential
increased need for external capital, as well as their large, but
now diminishing dependence on intra-group funding," said Andrea
Jaehne, Director in Fitch's Financial Institutions' team.

Fitch expects to resolve the RWN on UBL's and its two
subsidiaries' Individual ratings when it has greater clarity about
the impact of the UK's asset protection scheme on UBL's capital
and profitability.

The bank's Long- and Short-term IDRs and Support Rating, and its
subsidiaries' ratings, reflect the extremely high probability of
support from UBL's ultimate bank shareholder, Royal Bank of
Scotland (RBS, rated 'AA-'/ Stable), which Fitch considers would
be forthcoming in case of need.  Despite RBS's weakened financial
position, in 2009 the parent demonstrated its strong willingness
to continue to provide capital and funding support which has been
allowed by the UK's FSA.

UBL's asset quality has weakened as a result of the sharp
deterioration in the Irish economy and a steep fall in property
prices.  Impaired loans have worsened significantly in 2009,
adversely affecting UBL's operating profitability.  The bank's
pre-impairment operating profit in the first six months of 2009
was fully absorbed by loan impairment charges mainly relating to
property loans.  Fitch expects UBL's loan impairment charges to
continue to worsen during the remainder of 2009 and 2010,
especially in the light of increasing unemployment and corporate
defaults.  However, UBL expects around EUR24bn of its assets to be
covered by the APS which would reduce the bank's risk weighted
assets and therefore support its capitalization.  Fitch considers
UBL's capital position to be adequate, especially after the
receipt of EUR1.1 billion in capital from RBS in 2009.  Although
this capital injection provides an additional buffer against
further losses on UBL's assets, the agency considers that more
capital might be required over the next two years.

As a result of rapid loan growth in 2008, UBL's dependence on
intra-group funding increased significantly, especially given the
dislocation of the capital markets.  Customer deposits accounted
for about half of UBL's total funding at end-2008, a proportion
which UBL is eager to strengthen by attracting additional customer
deposits in Ireland and selected European countries.  However,
Fitch believes that any swift improvement in the bank's funding
profile from this source is unlikely given the present fierce
competition for deposits in all European countries.

UBL is part of RBS Group and operates in Northern Ireland and
Ireland where it has a strong franchise.  It offers a wide range
of financial services to retail and corporate customers while
benefiting from RBS' products, procedures and IT systems.

The rating actions are:

Ulster Bank Ltd:

  -- Long-term IDR: affirmed at 'A+'; Outlook Stable

  -- Short-term IDR: affirmed at 'F1+'

  -- Individual Rating: downgraded to 'D' from 'C/D', placed on
     RWN

  -- Support Rating: affirmed at '1'

Ulster Bank Finance plc:

  -- Commercial paper: affirmed at 'F1+'

Ulster Bank Ireland Limited:

  -- Long-term IDR: affirmed at 'A+'; Outlook Stable

  -- Senior unsecured debt: affirmed at 'A+'

  -- Short-term IDR: affirmed at 'F1+'

  -- Individual Rating: downgraded to 'D' from 'C/D'; placed on
     RWN

  -- Support Rating: affirmed at '1'

First Active Plc:

  -- Long-term IDR: affirmed at 'A+'; Outlook Stable

  -- Senior unsecured debt: affirmed at 'A+'

  -- Short-term IDR: affirmed at 'F1+'

  -- Commercial paper: affirmed at 'F1+'

  -- Individual Rating: downgraded to 'D' from 'C/D'; placed on
     RWN

  -- Support Rating: affirmed at '1'

In Fitch's rating criteria, a bank's standalone risk is reflected
in Fitch's Individual ratings and the prospect of external support
is reflected in Fitch's Support ratings.  Collectively these
ratings drive Fitch's Long- and Short-term IDRs.


ZOE GROUP: High Court Rejects Second Examinership Application
-------------------------------------------------------------
The Irish Times reports that the High Court has refused appoint an
examiner to companies in the Liam Carroll-controlled Zoe group.

The Irish Times relates Mr. Justice Frank Clarke dismissed a
second application to appoint an examiner to the property group.
Zoe, the Irish Times discloses, was seeking the appointment of Ray
Jackson, a retired partner of KPMG, as examiner.  Zoe claimed the
firms had a reasonable prospect of survival, based on a three year
business plan supported grounded on a two-year moratorium on
interest repayments on bank loans, the Irish Times discloses.

According to the Irish Times, the judge said that he would set out
the reasons for his decision in a written judgment today,
Sept. 11.  The Irish Times notes the judge said he will also hear
today an application by ACC bank to appoint a liquidator to the
two holding companies in the group Vantive Holdings and Morston
Investments Ltd., which had been on hold due to the examinership
application.

The Irish Times says it is estimated in a liquidation scenario,
the seven companies would have some EUR1.1 billion liabilities.

Sean McCarthaigh and Paul O'Brien at The Irish Examiner report
that Mr. Justice Clarke criticized a number of inaccuracies in an
independent accountant's report by senior KPMG partner, David
Wilkinson, that claimed Zoe had a viable future.

Mr. Wilkinson's conclusion that Zoe's assets including income from
property sales, rental income and dividends from Mr. Carroll's
shareholding in Greencore and the Irish Ferries group could fully
cover 100% of its interest and debt repayments as well as all
overheads was "seriously wrong", the Irish Examiner quoted Mr.
Justice Clarke as saying.

Mr. Carroll had sought the protection of the court for Zoe because
ACC Bank had threatened to take insolvency proceedings against his
companies to recoup loans worth EUR136 million.


=========
I T A L Y
=========


BANCA ITALEASE: Approves EUR1.2 Bln Rights Offer to Boost Capital
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sonia Sirletti at Bloomberg News reports that Banca Italease SpA
approved a EUR1.2 billion (US$1.7 billion) rights offer that will
allow the lender to improve its capital ratios and strengthen its
finances after it missed a payment on preferred securities of
EUR150 million.

According to Bloomberg, Banco Popolare SC, which received
regulatory permission to bid for the rest of the bank's shares at
EUR1.5 each on May 12, will cover any part of the stock sale not
purchased by investors.  Popolare holds a 31% stake in Italease.

Italease scheduled a shareholder meeting to approve the capital
increase Oct. 12 or Oct. 14, Bloomberg notes.

Banca Italease SpA (BIT:BIL) -- http://www.italease.it/-- is an
Italy-based banking company.  Banca Italease provides retail
leasing services through: Italease Secondacasa, offering real
estate leasing; Tiarredo, providing furniture leasing; Tiarredo
Arte, specializing in art leasing; Tiguido, offering car and
motorcycle leasing, and Tivaro, providing boat leasing.  Banca
Italease also offers corporate leasing through its subsidiaries:
LeasinGomme, Real Estate Leasing, Industrial Leasing, Public
Sector Leasing and Corporate Car Leasing.  Other areas of
Company’s operations are: subsidized leasing, medium and long-term
lending, insurance products, factoring, long-term car leasing, and
Interest Rate Swap (IRS) contracts.

                         *     *     *

Banca Italease continues to carry an 'E+' bank financial strength
rating from Moody's Investors Service with a stable outlook.


FIAT FINANCE: Fitch Assigns 'BB+' Rating on Senior Bonds
--------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Fiat Finance & Trade Ltd's EUR1,250
million bond a senior unsecured final rating of 'BB+'.  The notes
have a five-year maturity and a coupon of 7.625%.

Bonds issued by FFT will be unconditionally and irrevocably
guaranteed by its parent, Fiat Spa, under its EUR15 billion Global
Medium Term Note program.  The bond's 'BB+' rating reflects Fiat's
Long-term Issuer Default rating and senior unsecured rating of
'BB+', respectively.  The Outlook for Fiat's Long-term IDR is
Negative.  FFT is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fiat.

The net proceeds from the issuance will be used to finance the
activities of the Fiat group.  The guarantee from Fiat is a
direct, general and unconditional obligation of the company and
will at all times rank at least equally with all its other present
and future unsecured and unsubordinated obligations.  Terms and
conditions also include standard events of default, but there are
no financial covenants.


FIAT FINANCE: S&P Assigns 'BB+' Rating on EUR1.25 Bil. Bonds
------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it has assigned its
'BB+' long-term issue rating to the EUR1.25 billion senior
unsecured bond issued by Fiat Finance & Trade Ltd.--a wholly owned
subsidiary of Italian industrial group Fiat SpA (BB+/Negative/B)--
under its global medium-term note program.  At the same time,
Standard & Poor's assigned a recovery rating of '3' to the bond,
indicating its expectation of meaningful (50%-70%) recovery in the
event of a payment default.  The issue and recovery ratings on the
Fiat group's other debt instruments remain unchanged.

"The additional debt, which will be used to bolster the group's
liquidity, moderately dilutes recoveries, though to a level still
within the indicated range," said Standard & Poor's recovery
analyst Marc Lewis.  "Other assumptions underpinning S&P's
recovery analysis remain unchanged."

The rating on the bond is the same as the long-term corporate
credit rating on Fiat, which reflects what S&P sees as the high
cyclicality of most of the group's businesses, still fairly high
dependence on two markets (Italy and Brazil), and barely adequate
liquidity.  The corporate credit rating is also supported by S&P's
view of the group's good business diversification through
agricultural and construction equipment maker CNH Global N.V.
(BB+/Negative/--) and truck manufacturer Iveco.

                        Recovery Analysis

All of the senior unsecured debt issues of Fiat Finance & Trade
Ltd. and Fiat Finance North America Inc. are rated 'BB+', the same
as the corporate credit rating on 100% parent, Fiat SpA.  All debt
has a recovery rating of '3', indicating Standard & Poor's
expectation of "meaningful" (50%-70%) recovery in the event of a
payment default.

S&P has valued the business as a going concern.  Given what S&P
see as Fiat's good market positions and well-recognized brands --
for which there is significant customer demand and a widespread
distribution network -- S&P assumes that a default would most
likely result from operational underperformance, as well as from a
weakening of both liquidity reserves and operating cash flow
generation capability.  S&P's hypothetical default scenario
assumes that Fiat would voluntarily file for bankruptcy if it
foresaw cash balances dropping below a minimum threshold.

S&P has valued Fiat at EUR9 billion-EUR10 billion at the
hypothetical point of default (2012).

Recovery prospects for unsecured noteholders reflect S&P's opinion
on both the estimated value available and accessible to the
creditors and the likelihood of insolvency proceedings being
adversely influenced by Fiat's domicile in Italy.  S&P consider
recovery prospects to be underpinned by Fiat's extensive asset
base.


GIANFRANCO FERRE: To Push Through with Expansion Plans
------------------------------------------------------
Astrid Wendlandt and Marie-Louise Gumuchian at Reuters report that
Michela Piva, chief executive of Gianfranco Ferre SpA, said the
Italian fashion house has enough cash to stage fashion shows,
launch a shoe and handbag line and roll-out a new logo despite
being in administration and hit by the downturn.

According to Reuters, Gianfranco Ferre is pushing ahead with
expansion plans while waiting for a buyer to show its hand, or to
sign a new deal with creditors.

The Italian fashion house, known for its architectural silhouettes
and sensual dresses, is owned by the Milan-listed Italian group IT
Holding, which went into administration in February after running
out of cash.  Since then, IT Holding has been run by a triumvirate
of government-appointed commissioners who have until November 10
to reveal their plans for the group.

                     About IT Holding SpA

Based in Milan, Italy, IT Holding SpA (BIT:ITH) --
http://www.itholding.com/-- operates in the luxury goods market.
The company and its subsidiaries design, produce and distribute
apparel, accessories, eyewear and perfumes.  Its brand portfolio
embraces: owned brands, Gianfranco Ferre, Malo, Exte, as well as
licensed brands, Versace Jeans Couture, Versace Sport, Just
Cavalli, C'N'C Costume National and Galliano.  The company's
production facilities are located in Italy.  IT Holding SpA has a
worldwide distribution network, including 39 directly operated
stores, 274 monobrand stores and over 6,000 department and
specialty stores.  In order to be present in the most significant
markets, IT Holding SpA has dedicated market companies: ITTIERRE
SpA, ITTIERRE France SA, ITTIERRE Moden GmbH, IT USA HOLDING Inc
and IT Asia Pacific Limited, among others.

                     About Gianfranco Ferre

Gianfranco Ferre SpA -- http://www.gianfrancoferre.com/-- designs
men's and women's clothing and accessories, some of which used to
be produced and distributed by Italian apparel and textile maker
Marzotto, but the agreements have expired.  Gianfranco Ferre also
operates about 40 boutiques for men and women in Italy and 15
other countries.  In an effort to extend its reach to new
customers, the company has been renaming and reshuffling some of
its labels, and uses the name Ferre (dropping the Gianfranco) on
storefronts.  Founded in 1974, the company in 2002 became a
subsidiary of IT Holding, which went into administration in
February 2009 alongside its Ittierre unit.


INTESA SANPAOLO: Mulls 10-Year Euro Bond Sale to Bolster Capital
----------------------------------------------------------------
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA plans to sell 10-year euro-denominated bonds
to strengthen its capital base, Esteban Duarte and Sonia Sirletti
at Bloomberg News report, citing a banker involved in the deal.

According to Bloomberg, the bank said Banca IMI SpA, Barclays
Capital, BNP Paribas SA and Deutsche Bank AG are managing the
issue.

Citing Il Messaggero, Bloomberg discloses Intesa may raise as much
as EUR1.5 billion (US$2.2 billion) by selling lower Tier 2 bonds.
Bloomberg relates the daily said the bond sale may eliminate the
need for the bank to request government aid.

                             State Aid

On Sept. 7, 2009, the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe, citing The
Financial Times, reported Intesa may not push through with its
plan to request for EUR4 billion (US$5.7 billion) in state aid.
Corrado Passera, Intesa's chief executive, told the FT the bank
may get by without an investment of so-called "Tremonti bonds",
which Italian banks would issue to the government in return for
injections of state cash.

"The board will take a decision at the end of the month on the
basis of how the market has developed, on our results, and
achievability of our planned disposals," the FT quoted Mr. Passera
as saying.  "We might press ahead with our plan to issue EUR4
billion of them.  But it is also possible that we will say no or
decide to issue only a portion."

According to the FT, shareholders would rather the bank did not
issue the bonds, which carry a coupon of 8.5%, and remained
independent of potential government influence.

Intesa Sanpaolo SpA -- http://www.group.intesasanpaolo.com/-- is
an Italy-based banking group. It provides banking services for
private and corporate clients.  The Company’s products and
services include current and saving accounts, loans, mortgages,
financing, payment and factoring services, investment and private
banking services.  The Company divides its activities into six
main business units: Public Finance, Corporate and Investment
Banking, Territorial Banks, Foreign Banks, Eurizon Capital, and
Banca Fideuram.  Public Finance operates through Banca
Infrastrutture Innovazione e Sviluppo; Corporate and Investment
Banking is active through Banca IMI, Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Ireland,
and Zao Banca Intesa, among others; Territorial Banks includes
Mediocredito Italiano, Intesavita, and Setefi, among others;
Foreign Banks includes CIB Bank, and KMB Bank, among others;
Eurizon Capital is a subsidiary specialized in the management of
investments funds; Banca Fideuram is a subsidiary operating in the
Private Banking sector.


IT HOLDING: Gianfranco Ferre to Push Through with Expansion Plans
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Astrid Wendlandt and Marie-Louise Gumuchian at Reuters report that
Michela Piva, chief executive of Gianfranco Ferre SpA, said the
Italian fashion house has enough cash to stage fashion shows,
launch a shoe and handbag line and roll-out a new logo despite
being in administration and hit by the downturn.

According to Reuters, Gianfranco Ferre is pushing ahead with
expansion plans while waiting for a buyer to show its hand, or to
sign a new deal with creditors.

The Italian fashion house, known for its architectural silhouettes
and sensual dresses, is owned by the Milan-listed Italian group IT
Holding, which went into administration in February after running
out of cash.  Since then, IT Holding has been run by a triumvirate
of government-appointed commissioners who have until November 10
to reveal their plans for the group.

                    About Gianfranco Ferre

Gianfranco Ferre SpA -- http://www.gianfrancoferre.com/-- designs
men's and women's clothing and accessories, some of which used to
be produced and distributed by Italian apparel and textile maker
Marzotto, but the agreements have expired.  Gianfranco Ferre also
operates about 40 boutiques for men and women in Italy and 15
other countries.  In an effort to extend its reach to new
customers, the company has been renaming and reshuffling some of
its labels, and uses the name Ferre (dropping the Gianfranco) on
storefronts.  Founded in 1974, the company in 2002 became a
subsidiary of IT Holding, which went into administration in
February 2009 alongside its Ittierre unit.

                       About IT Holding SpA

Based in Milan, Italy, IT Holding SpA (BIT:ITH) --
http://www.itholding.com/-- operates in the luxury goods market.
The company and its subsidiaries design, produce and distribute
apparel, accessories, eyewear and perfumes.  Its brand portfolio
embraces: owned brands, Gianfranco Ferre, Malo, Exte, as well as
licensed brands, Versace Jeans Couture, Versace Sport, Just
Cavalli, C'N'C Costume National and Galliano.  The company's
production facilities are located in Italy.  IT Holding SpA has a
worldwide distribution network, including 39 directly operated
stores, 274 monobrand stores and over 6,000 department and
specialty stores.  In order to be present in the most significant
markets, IT Holding SpA has dedicated market companies: ITTIERRE
SpA, ITTIERRE France SA, ITTIERRE Moden GmbH, IT USA HOLDING Inc
and IT Asia Pacific Limited, among others.


===================
K A Z A K H S T A N
===================


BTA BANK: Creditors Hire Deloitte to Advise on Debt Restructuring
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Nariman Gizitdinov at Bloomberg News reports that BTA Bank said
creditors hired Deloitte & Touche LLP and Baker & McKenzie LLP to
advise them on the restructuring of US$10.3 billion of debt
following the lender's default earlier this year.

According to Bloomberg, BTA Chief Executive Officer Anvar Saidenov
said Deloitte & Touche LLP will study the increase in provisions
that the lender set aside to cover bad debt.

Bloomberg relates BTA said on Sept. 8 it will increase loan-loss
provisions by KZT400 billion (US$2.65 billion) on top of the
KZT1.39 trillion set aside in the six months through June 30.  By
the end of 2014, BTA plans to recover KZT492 billion out of "bad
loans" totaling about KZT1.4 trillion, Bloomberg says.

AS reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on Sept. 9,
2009, Bloomberg News said BTA's creditors may lose as much as
82.25% under a debt restructuring plan proposed by the lender.
Bloomberg disclosed the bank proposed four options, including
paying a maximum of US$1 billion to buy back debt at 17.75% of
face value.  The lender must submit restructuring plan to the
Kazakh financial watchdog by Sept. 18, Bloomberg said.

BTA Bank AO (BTA Bank JSC), formerly Bank TuranAlem AO --
http://bta.kz/-- is a Kazakhstan-based financial institution,
which is involved in the provision of banking and financial
products for private and corporate clients.  The Bank has in its
offer personal banking services, comprised of current accounts,
savings accounts, term deposits, safety deposit boxes, money
transfer services, credit facilities, and corporate banking
services, including business accounts, credit facilities, treasury
services, letters of guarantee, letters of credit, foreign
exchange services, remittances and other solutions, as well as
debt and credit cards, card services and electronic banking
services.  The Bank has 14 subsidiaries and six affiliated
companies.  It offers its services through a network of numerous
regional branches, cash settlement centers throughout Kazakhstan
and international representative offices located in Ukraine,
Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates.


JAINAK-BN LLP: Creditors Must File Claims by September 18
---------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP Jainak-BN have until September 18, 2009, to
submit proofs of claim to:

         The Specialized Inter-Regional
         Economic Court of Aktube
         Satpaev Str. 16
         Aktobe
         Aktube
         Kazakhstan

The court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company on
June 24, 2009.


LISTER KROSS: Creditors Must File Claims by September 18
--------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP Lister Kross Ltd. have until September 18, 2009,
to submit proofs of claim to:

         The Specialized Inter-Regional
         Economic Court of Almaty
         Baizakov Str. 273b
         Almaty
         Kazakhstan

The court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company on
June 29, 2009.


NEFTE GAS: Creditors Must File Claims by September 18
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP Pipe Line Company Nefte Gas Stroy have until
September 18, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         The Specialized Inter-Regional
         Economic Court of Aktube
         Satpaev Str. 16
         Aktobe
         Aktube
         Kazakhstan

The court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company on
June 24, 2009.


OIL SNUB: Creditors Must File Claims by September 18
----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP Corporation Oil Snub Service have until
September 18, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         Altynsarin Str. 31
         Aktobe
         Aktube
         Kazakhstan

The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Aktube  commenced
bankruptcy proceedings against the company on June 24, 2009, after
finding it insolvent.


STROY PROM: Creditors Must File Claims by September 18
------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP Stroy Prom M have until September 18, 2009, to
submit proofs of claim to:

         The Specialized Inter-Regional
         Economic Court of Almaty
         Baizakov Str. 273b
         Almaty
         Kazakhstan

The court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company on
May 15, 2009.


===================
L U X E M B O U R G
===================


ELEX ALPHA: Moody's Cuts Rating on Class E Notes to 'Ca'
--------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has taken these rating actions on notes
issued by eleX Alpha S.A.

Issuer: eleX Alpha S.A.

  -- Class A-1 Senior Secured Revolving Floating Rate Notes due
     2023, Downgraded to Aa2; previously on Jan 10, 2007
     Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa

  -- Class A-2 Senior Secured Delayed Draw Floating Rate Notes due
     2023, Downgraded to Aa2; previously on Jan 10, 2007
     Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa

  -- Class B Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2023,
     Downgraded to Baa2; previously on Mar 4, 2009 Aa2 Placed
     Under Review for Possible Downgrade

  -- Class C Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate Notes due
     2023, Downgraded to Ba3; previously on Mar 19, 2009
     Downgraded to Baa3 and Remained On Review for Possible
     Downgrade

  -- Class D Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate Notes due
     2023, Downgraded to Caa1; previously on Mar 19, 2009
     Downgraded to B1 and Remained On Review for Possible
     Downgrade

  -- Class E Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate Notes due
     2023, Downgraded to Ca; previously on Mar 19, 2009 Downgraded
     to Caa1 and Remained On Review for Possible Downgrade

This transaction is a managed cash leveraged loan collateralized
loan obligation with exposure to predominantly European senior
secured loans, as well as some mezzanine loan exposure.

The rating actions reflect Moody's revised assumptions with
respect to default probability and the calculation of the
diversity score as described in the press release dated
February 4, 2009, titled "Moody's updates key assumptions for
rating CLOs." These revised assumptions have been applied to all
corporate credits in the underlying portfolio, the revised
assumptions for the treatment of ratings on "Review for Possible
Downgrade", "Review for Possible Upgrade", or with a "Negative
Outlook" being applied to those corporate credits that are
publicly rated.

Moody's also notes that a material proportion of the collateral
pool consists of debt obligations whose credit quality has been
assessed through Moody's credit estimates.  As credit estimates do
not carry credit indicators such as ratings reviews and outlooks,
a stress of a quarter notch-equivalent assumed downgrade was
applied to each of these estimates.

According to Moody's, the rating actions taken on the notes are
also a result of credit deterioration of the underlying portfolio.
This is observed through a decline in the average credit rating as
measured through the portfolio weighted average rating factor
'WARF' (currently 2788), an increase in the amount of defaulted
securities (currently 6% of the portfolio), an increase in the
proportion of securities from issuers rated Caa1 and below
(currently 10% of the portfolio), and a failure of Class E par
value test and Reinvestment Test (99.85% as of 27 July 2009).
These measures were taken from the recent trustee report dated
July 27, 2009.

In addition to the quantitative factors that are explicitly
modelled, qualitative factors are part of the rating committee
considerations.  These qualitative factors include the structural
protections in each transaction, the recent deal performance in
the current market environment, the legal environment, specific
documentation features, the collateral manager's track record, and
the potential for selection bias in the portfolio.  All
information available to rating committees, including
macroeconomic forecasts, input from other Moody's analytical
groups, market factors, and judgments regarding the nature and
severity of credit stress on the transactions, may influence the
final rating decision.


OSTREGION INVESTMENTGESELLSCHAFT: Moody's Cuts Ratings to 'Ba2'
---------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded to Ba2 from Baa3 the
ratings of Ostregion Investmentgesellschaft Nr. 1 S.A, and will
review those ratings for possible further rating action.  This
downgrade was prompted by the downgrade of Ambac Assurance UK
Limited to Caa2, outlook developing, and the impact an Ambac
default may have upon the future funding of the project.  Once
potential liquidity issues relating to a possible Ambac default
are resolved Moody's will likely reinstate the investment grade
ratings of the Issuer.  If however an Ambac default triggers a
draw-down stop, the senior debt will be downgraded materially.

The significant deterioration in Ambac's rating heightened the
possibility of an Ambac default.  Such a default could potentially
affect the remaining funding requirements of the Issuer.  The
Issuer is a financing conduit who issues EUR425 million floating
rate bonds and entered into a EUR350 million pari passu floating
rate guaranteed senior secured European Investment Bank loan.  It
on-lends the proceeds of the Bonds and the EIB Loan to Bonaventura
Strassenerrichtungs-GmbH, which has entered into a 32-year and
eight months Concession Agreement with the Autobahnen- und
Schnellstrassen-Finanzierungs AG to plan, develop, construct and
operate the concession-route comprising four motorway sections
with a total length of 51.5 km in the North of Vienna, Austria.
Construction is expected to be completed by February 2010.

Of the EUR425 million Bonds, EUR385,1 million has been purchased
by the Issuer through a Senior Forward Purchase Agreement.  Under
the SFPA the Senior Forward Bond Purchasers agree to buy and the
Issuer agrees to sell the Bonds on fixed Senior Forward Purchase
Dates over time.  The gross proceeds of the sale of Senior Forward
Purchase Bonds will be on-lent by the Issuer to ProjectCo to fund
construction of the Project.  Moody's notes however that the
obligation of a Senior Forward Bond Purchaser to purchase the
Senior Forward Purchase Bonds on a scheduled Forward Purchase Date
is subject to there being no Ambac Event of Default outstanding.
Given Ambac's Caa2 rating such a default event is not unlikely.
Also if any or all Senior Forward Purchasers stop purchasing bonds
under the SFPA than EIB may have the right to accelerate provided
that it obtains a 25% quorum of the bondholders.

Moody's notes however that:

  -- Although there are some outstanding issues, the Project is
     close to construction completion, it is therefore less likely
     that Senior Forward Bond Purchasers would stop funding the
     Project, which is just about to transition into a less risky
     operational phase, and make a loss on a termination payment
     paid by Asfinag.

  -- All bond-funding needed to complete construction has already
     been drawn under the SFPA.  The remaining bond-funding will
     be used for financing debt service.

  -- Only two draw-downs under the SFPA are remaining namely
     EUR11.8 million in November '09 and EUR18 million in May '10
     (total of EUR29,8mm or about 7.0% of the total principal of
     the Bonds).  It therefore seems less likely that bondholders
     will enforce such a draw-down stop when only such a small
     amount is outstanding.

  -- EIB already showed being very supportive of the deal by
     negotiating a 'waiver' to defer its step-up margin following
     Ambac's downgrade.

  -- If the bondholders stop buying Bonds under the SFPA than this
     would clearly affect the financial situation of ProjectCo as
     those funds are needed to complete the construction phase.
     This Issuer would run out of funds which would trigger a
     default.  However under a draw-down stop scenario, the Issuer
     would seek funding by remarketing the remaining unsold Bonds.
     Moody's notes that this remarketing process would have to go
     fairly quickly and Bonds would need to be sold at about par
     for the Issuer not to run out of cash.  However given that
     the amount of unsold bonds is relatively small compared to
     the size of the deal (EUR800mm capex) and size of the Notes
     (EUR425mm), the likelihood that no party will step-up to
     save the Project is low.

The possibility that an Ambac default would eventually trigger
liquidity problems for the Issuer is low, it can however not be
excluded and is strongly dependent upon decisions made by various
parties involved in this transaction.  The current situation is
therefore no longer consistent with an investment grade rating.
Once potential liquidity issues relating to the SFPA are resolved
Moody's will likely reinstate the investment grade ratings of the
Bonds and the Loan.  If however the Senior Forward Purchasers
enforce a draw-down stop, following an Ambac, default, the Bonds
and the Loan will be downgraded materially.

The last rating action was on April 13, 2009, when Ambac was
downgraded to Ba3 which was below the Project's underlying rating
of Baa3.  It is Moody's policy to assign the higher of the
underlying rating and the monoline's rating to the Bonds and the
Loan, hence the rating of the senior debt instruments remained at
Baa3.


=====================
N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================


SNS REAAL: Moody's Cuts Rating on Capital Securities to 'Ba1'
-------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the EUR350 million 6.258%
capital securities issued by SNS REAAL N.V. to Ba1 from Baa3.
Moody's also downgraded the EUR39 million 7.625% perpetual
subordinated notes issued by SNS Bank, SNS REAAL group's banking
operations, to Baa3 from A3.

The Baa1 rating on SNS Bank's EUR200 million 5.75% capital
securities has been affirmed.

The other ratings of SNS REAAL (Baa1 senior debt, stable outlook),
SNS Bank N.V.(C bank financial strength rating, A2 long-term
senior debt and deposit ratings, stable outlook) and REAAL
Verzekeringen (A2 financial strength ratings for the main
operating companies, negative outlook) are not affected by this
rating action.

The rating action reflects Moody's assumption of a low to moderate
probability of coupon deferral on the downgraded securities listed
above as a result of the ongoing discussion between SNS REAAL, the
Dutch Ministry of Finance and the European Commission on the state
aid package and follows Moody's press release entitled "Moody's
sees broader impact on hybrid ratings triggered by EC's state aid
reviews", published on August 19, 2009.

The review for possible further downgrade reflects the prospect of
potential further downgrades in the event of the actual longer-
term suspension of coupons.

Moody's understands that SNS REAAL is currently discussing its
viability plan with the Dutch Ministry of Finance and the EC,
following the issuance of EUR750 million of capital securities to
the Dutch state in November 2008.  Moody's believes that there is
an increased risk that SNS REAAL and SNS Bank may be advised to
skip optional coupons on its hybrids given that - notwithstanding
a significant improvement in the group's performance - SNS REAAL
group reported EUR 23million losses for the first half year 2009
and given the EC's scrutiny on coupons of hybrid securities and
dividends being paid out of profits.

Perhaps mitigating some of that risk, Moody's notes that the state
aid received by SNS REAAL is less comprehensive than the aid
received by some of its competitors, and SNS REAAL's main
shareholder also contributed to the recapitalization plan launched
by the group in November last year.  In addition, for all the
securities issued by SNS REAAL and SNS Bank with optional deferral
provision, the coupon payments are cumulative (at least during
five years for securities issued by SNS REAAL), hence limiting the
loss severity of a coupon deferral if this were to materialize.

The affirmation of the Baa1 rating assigned to SNS Bank's
EUR200 million 5.75% capital securities is underpinned by the low
likelihood that the mandatory trigger attached to these securities
will be breached.  Moody's, therefore, views the deferral of the
coupon payment on these securities as unlikely.

Moody's adds that it released a Request for Comment entitled,
"Moody's Proposed Changes to Bank Subordinated Capital Ratings",
dated June 2009, via which it has requested market feedback on
potential changes to its bank hybrid rating methodology.  Should
Moody's implement this revised methodology as proposed, the
ratings of SNS REAAL and SNS Bank's hybrid debts could potentially
be impacted.  Moody's cautions that the rating of some of these
hybrid debts could even be downgraded by multiple notches.

These ratings have been downgraded and placed on review for
possible further downgrade:

  -- SNS REAAL EUR350 million 6.258% capital securities
     (XS0310904155) -- preferred stock rating to Ba1 from Baa3;
     and

  -- SNS Bank EUR39 million 7.625% perpetual subordinated notes
     (XS0112493969) -- junior subordinated rating to Baa3 from A3.

This rating has been affirmed:

  -- SNS Bank EUR200 million 5.75% capital securities
     (XS0172565482) -- preferred stock rated Baa1, outlook stable.

The last rating action on SNS REAAL and SNS Bank was on January
15, 2009, when Moody's downgraded the ratings of both issuers.

SNS REAAL is a bancassurance group headquartered in Utrecht, the
Netherlands.  Focusing on the Dutch market, it reported total
income of EUR5.2 billion in 2008 and had shareholders' equity of
EUR4.9 billion as of 31 December.

SNS Bank, headquartered in Utrecht, the Netherlands, had total
assets of EUR76.7 billion and reported shareholders' equity
(including minority interest) of EUR2.4 billion as of 31 December
2008.


===========
P O L A N D
===========


KOTLIN: In Liquidation; Owner Agros Nova Mulls Sale
---------------------------------------------------
Warsaw Business Journal, citing Puls Biznesu and Parkiet, reports
that Agros Nova is considering selling Kotlin.

Warsaw Business Journal relates a decision was taken Friday last
week to liquidate the enterprise, which has been incurring high
losses for many years.

"We are open to offers to sell a part of the enterprise," Warsaw
Business Journal quoted Agros Nova spokesman Joanna Bancerowska as
saying.

Citing Parkiet, Warsaw Business Journal discloses stock-listed
Jutrzenka is said to be the potential buyer.

Warsaw Business Journal notes Puls Biznesu reported the plant may
also be taken over the local authorities in Jarocin for about
zl.10 million.

Kotlin produced ready meals and processed food.


===========
R U S S I A
===========


ALROSA COMPANY: Expects 30% Drop in Sales This Year
---------------------------------------------------
Stefan Wagstyl at The Financial Times reports that Alrosa Company
Ltd. is expecting sales to decline by almost 30% this year as
global demand falls.

"This is a very difficult time for us but we will try our hardest
to meet our targets," Sergei Oulin, vice-president told the FT in
Yakutsk.

Alrosa, the FT discloses, sold rough stones worth just US$351
million in the first half of the year, compared with US$2.9
billion in the whole of 2008.  According to the FT, with the
support of official buying from the Russian state treasury, the
company plans a big increase in the second half and US$2.1 billion
in annual sales for 2009.  The FT relates Vladimir Putin, the
Russian prime minister, pledged up to RUR35 billion in state
support, including state diamond purchases, which Mr. Putin said
would increase from RUR3.7 billion to RUR14.5 billion.

The FT says Alrosa, which suffered net losses of RUR32.6 billion
(US$1bn) last year, is budgeting to at least break even this year,
in spite of hefty losses of RUR13 billion in the first half.  The
company's US$2.8 billion investment program plus the financing of
crisis-induced losses has driven up Alrosa's debts to about RUR155
billion, at the end of June, the FT states.

Mr. Oulin, as cited by the FT, said as well as the general fall in
demand, Alrosa was suffering from a "liquidity crisis" in the
market, with many diamond buying and processing companies un-able
to secure finance.

                          About Alrosa

ALROSA Company Ltd. -- http://eng.alrosa.ru/eng/-- is Russia's
largest diamond company engaged in the exploration, mining,
manufacture and sales of diamonds and one of the world's major
rough diamond producers.  ALROSA produces about 20% of the world's
rough diamond output and accounts for almost 100% of all rough
diamonds produced in Russia.

                          *     *     *

ALROSA Co. Ltd. continues to carry a 'BB-' long-term corporate
credit rating from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.  As
reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on Nov. 27, 2008,
S&P said it lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on
Russian diamond miner ALROSA to 'BB-' from 'BB' on increasing
leverage, weak liquidity, and deteriorating operations.


EVRAZ GROUP: S&P Downgrades Corporate Credit Rating to 'B+'
-----------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it lowered its long-
term corporate credit, bank loan, and senior unsecured debt
ratings on Russia-based steel producer Evraz Group S.A. and its
core subsidiary Mastercroft Ltd. to 'B+' from 'BB-'.  At the same
time, the Russia national scale rating on Evraz and Mastercroft
was lowered to 'ruA' from 'ruAA-'.  In addition, all ratings were
placed on CreditWatch with negative implications.

"The downgrade and CreditWatch placement reflect S&P's opinion
that there is heightened uncertainty about the willingness of
banks to agree to waive or amend financial covenants, and the
ability of Evraz to address its currently very weak liquidity,"
said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Alex Herbert.  "This follows
the announcement by Evraz of operating results for the six months
to June 30, 2009, that were even weaker than S&P had previously
anticipated."

Evraz faces a difficult combination of very low cash flow
generation caused by the severe steel industry downturn and
substantial adjusted debt from previous debt-financed
acquisitions.  In addition, the group has persistently high short-
term debt and faces potential financial covenant breaches, which
may be more difficult to address than management expects.

In S&P's view, a broader debt restructuring could be required if
Evraz is unable to agree suitable waivers or amendments to its
financial covenants, or extend its high short-term debt.

In this context, S&P also note the views expressed by the Evraz
Board and the group's auditors in the June 2009 financial
statements regarding material uncertainty, which may cast
significant doubt about the group's ability to continue as a going
concern.

S&P aims to review the CreditWatch placement within the next three
months, after S&P has further assessed the group's progress with
regard to extending short-term debt and avoiding financial
covenant breaches.  In addition, S&P will continue to monitor
industry conditions and the group's operating performance.  If
Evraz is able to sufficiently mitigate these risks, and industry
conditions improve, S&P may be able to affirm the current ratings.
If, however, Evraz is unable to mitigate these risks, S&P would
likely lower the ratings by one notch or more.


===============
S L O V E N I A
===============


ABANKA VIPA: Moody's Expects to Assign Rating on EUR750 Mil. Debt
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service said that it expects to assign a backed
rating of Aa2 to up to EUR750 million of long term debt to be
issued by Abanka Vipa d.d., Ljubljana (rated A3/Prime-2/D+, with a
negative outlook) and guaranteed by the Republic of Slovenia.

Moody's notes that, going forward, the issue will be rated at the
higher of Abanka's or the Slovenian government's rating.  As the
Republic of Slovenia is currently rated higher than Abanka at Aa2,
the debt issue receives the same rating as the government bond
rating.  Moody's considers that under the Deed of Guarantee, the
Republic of Slovenia will unconditionally and irrevocably
guarantee the due and punctual payment of all sums due and payable
by Abanka as contractually required under the conditions of this
debt instrument.  The definitive rating will be assigned to the
government-guaranteed notes upon receipt of all duly executed and
final documentation.

Moody's decision to assign a Aa2 rating to the notes is also based
on explicit representations from the Slovenian government that its
obligation to pay under the Deed of Guarantee is unsubordinated
and is supported by the credit of the Slovenian government.  It
also reflects Moody's assessment of the willingness of the
Slovenian government to honor its obligations under the guarantee
in a manner consistent with its stated plan to maintain the
financial system's stability.

The Slovenian authorities have adopted legislative amendments
giving the government the power to guarantee up to EUR12.0 billion
in new international borrowings by Slovenian banks and other
financial institutions.  Moody's notes that the guarantees are
available for liabilities with a maturity of up to five years.
This sum can also be used to recapitalize financial institutions
should the need arise.  Abanka has been granted approval to
receive guarantees of up to EUR750 million under this facility.

Moody's outlook on the Aa2 long-term rating is stable, in line
with the stable outlook on the Aa2 rating of the Republic of
Slovenia.

Moody's previous rating action on Abanka was implemented on April
28, 2009 when it changed the outlook on the bank's A3/D+ ratings
to negative.

Headquartered in Ljubljana, Abanka Vipa d.d. had total assets of
EUR4.1 billion at the end of June 2009.


ABANKA VIPA: Fitch Assigns Rating on EUR750 Million Notes
---------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Abanka Vipa's (rated 'BBB'/Outlook
Negative) forthcoming note issuance of up to EUR750 million an
expected Long-term rating of 'AA'.  The notes benefit from a
guarantee provided by the Republic of Slovenia ('AA'/Outlook
Stable).  A change in the Republic of Slovenia's ratings would
thus impact the rating of the guaranteed notes.

The expected 'AA' rating is based on the information provided by
Abanka and third parties.  The final rating is contingent upon the
receipt of final documents conforming to information already
received.

Abanka's Negative Outlook reflects the impact of a deteriorating
Slovenian operating environment, which has put increased pressure
on its profitability and asset quality, and a lack of
diversification in the bank's funding base.

However, these negative factors are balanced by Abanka's sound
corporate franchise, shrinking equity exposure and satisfactory
capitalisation.  Fitch expects the bank to maintain a level of
capital that is commensurate with its risk profile.

At end-H109, Abanka was the third-largest bank in Slovenia by
total assets, with an 8.2% market share.  Its three largest
shareholders, including Zavarovalnica Triglav d.d, a Slovenian
state-controlled insurance company, have a strategic interest and
hold a total 59.3% of voting rights at present.  At end-H109,
Abanka employed 892 staff.

Fitch revised Abanka's Outlook to Negative from Stable on July 27,
2009.  At the same time, the agency affirmed the bank's Long-term
Issuer Default Rating at 'BBB', its Short-term IDR at 'F3',
Individual Rating at 'C', Support Rating at '3' and Support Rating
Floor at 'BB+'.  Fitch also affirmed Abanka's hybrid capital
instruments at 'BB+' on the same date.

In Fitch's rating criteria, a bank's standalone risk is reflected
in Fitch's Individual ratings and the prospect of external support
is reflected in Fitch's Support ratings.  Collectively these
ratings drive Fitch's Long- and Short-term IDRs.


=========
S P A I N
=========


FONDO DE TITULIZACION: S&P Puts Ratings on Notes on Negative Watch
------------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services placed on CreditWatch negative
its credit ratings on several classes of notes issued by Fondo de
Titulizacion de Activos UCI 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18.  All other
classes in these transactions are unaffected.

The CreditWatch placements follow a continued deterioration in the
credit quality of the underlying portfolios.  S&P reviewed UCI 14,
15, 16, and 17 in December 2008 and downgraded some junior classes
due to the rapid increase in long-term arrears.

Since then, delinquencies have continued to grow significantly.
As per the last investor report, loans in arrears for more than
180 days represented 9.21% in UCI 14, 10.41% in UCI 15, 12.13% in
UCI 16, and 7.62% in UCI 17.  These had increased from 3.33%,
4.32%, 4.84%, and 2.28%, respectively, since September 2008.

Based on these delinquency figures, S&P believes the likelihood of
a rapid increase in defaults and reserve fund draws has
significantly increased since the last review and so the
likelihood of negative rating actions has increased.

UCI 18 closed in February 2008.  In all of the UCI transactions, a
loan is considered as defaulted when in arrears for at least 18
months.  Therefore, not enough time has passed for loans in
arrears in UCI 18 to roll into default.  Given the current
transaction performance, S&P anticipate that a significant portion
of current long-term arrears will roll into default, increasing,
in S&P's opinion, the likelihood of a breach of the deferral-of-
interest trigger.  As of June 2009, 180+ day arrears comprised
3.02% of the pool, having almost doubled since the previous
interest payment date.

S&P will now analyze the current characteristics of these deals'
underlying portfolios to investigate whether any change to the
currently assigned ratings on the notes is warranted.  S&P will
report the results of this review and any rating changes in due
course.

The FTA UCI deals are Spanish residential mortgage-backed
securities transactions backed by pools of first-ranking mortgages
secured over owner-occupied residential properties in Spain, and
pools of unsecured personal or second-lien mortgage loans all
associated with the first-ranking mortgages.  These loans were
originated by Union de Creditos Inmobiliarios, Establecimiento
Financiero de Credito S.A.

                            Ratings List


                Ratings Placed on Creditwatch Negative

              Fondo de Titulizacion de Activos UCI 14
      EUR1,450 Million Mortgage-Backed Floating-Rate Notes

                                  Rating
                                  ------
                Class    To                   From
                -----    --                   ----
                B        BBB/Watch Neg        BBB
                C        BB+/Watch Neg        BB+

              Fondo de Titulizacion de Activos UCI 15
      EUR1,451.6 Million Mortgage-Backed Floating-Rate Notes

                                  Rating
                                  ------
                Class    To                   From
                -----    --                   ----
                B        BBB/Watch Neg        BBB
                C        BB+/Watch Neg        BB+

              Fondo de Titulizacion de Activos UCI 16
      EUR1,819.8 Million Mortgage-Backed Floating-Rate Notes

                                  Rating
                                  ------
                Class    To                   From
                -----    --                   ----
                B        BBB/Watch Neg        BBB
                C        BB+/Watch Neg        BB+
                D        B/Watch Neg          B

             Fondo de Titulizacion de Activos UCI 17
      EUR1,415.4 Million Mortgage-Backed Floating-Rate Notes

                                  Rating
                                  ------
                Class    To                   From
                -----    --                   ----
                A1       AAA/Watch Neg        AAA
                A2       AAA/Watch Neg        AAA
                B        BBB/Watch Neg        BBB
                C        BB+/Watch Neg        BB+

              Fondo de Titulizacion de Activos UCI 18
       EUR1,723 Million Mortgage-Backed Floating-Rate Notes

                                  Rating
                                  ------
                Class    To                   From
                -----    --                   ----
                A        AAA/Watch Neg        AAA
                B        A/Watch Neg          A
                C        BBB/Watch Neg        BBB


===========
S W E D E N
===========


SWEDBANK AB: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to D-
--------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service downgraded the ratings of four Swedish
banks and financial institutions: Nordea Bank AB, Svenska
Handelsbanken AB, Swedbank AB, and Landshypotek AB.

Moody's downgraded the long-term senior debt and deposit ratings
of all these financial entities by one notch, the bank financial
strength ratings of Nordea Bank and Svenska Handelsbanken by two
notches and the BFSRs of Swedbank and Landshypotek by one notch.
In addition the short-term deposit rating of Landshypotek was
downgraded to Prime-2 from Prime-1 while the short-term ratings of
all the remaining entities remained unchanged.

The rating actions conclude the review for possible downgrade
initiated on July 22, 2009, with the exception of that on
Volvofinans Bank AB, which will be concluded separately given the
entity's specific profile as a car consumer finance company.

The full list of rating actions and their specific rationale can
be found below under the name of each reviewed bank.

Moody's adds that details of the rating actions on Nordea's
banking subsidiaries in Denmark, Norway and Finland, which are not
included in the above summary, are provided below.  The same
applies to Swedbank's subsidiaries, Swedbank Mortgage and its
Baltic subsidiary Swedbank AS (Estonia).

The rating actions do not affect the government-backed ratings
that Moody's assigns to the debt instruments benefiting from the
Swedish government guarantee, which remain at Aaa with a stable
outlook in line with the ratings of the Swedish government.

Moody's review, during which it carried out a scenario analysis of
how expected losses would affect asset quality, earnings and
capitalisation, showed that BFSRs would be weakened by further
deterioration in the banks' financial performance as a result of
the economic downturn.  The rating agency's anticipation of
deteriorating asset quality primarily reflects the weakening of
Sweden's highly export-driven economy.  The negative outlook on
all the BFSRs reflects the potential for additional macroeconomic
deterioration beyond Moody's current expectations.

Moody's says that the smaller size of the downgrades of the long-
term debt and deposit ratings than those of the BFSRs were related
to its assessment of the probability of systemic support from the
Swedish government, given the systemic importance of some of these
banks to the domestic banking system.

Further explanation regarding Moody's recalibration framework is
provided in Moody's Press Release dated July 22, 2009, where the
above mentioned Swedish banks were placed on review.

                        Rating of Hybrids

For those banks with downgraded hybrids, the magnitude of the
downgrade was in line with the magnitude of the downgrade of the
senior debt rating and in line with Moody's current methodology.
The only exception to this approach was the hybrid ratings of
Swedbank AB, which were more closely linked to the bank's baseline
credit assessment (BCA, which maps from the BFSR) due to
Swedbank's weaker financial profile, as reflected by its BFSR
being in the D range, as explained in more detail below.

Moody's published a Request for Comment in July 2009 on its
proposed changes to banks' subordinated capital ratings.  If
implemented in their proposed form, the changes could lead to
multi-notch downgrades of hybrids.  Please refer to the Request
for Comment "Moody's Proposed Changes to Bank Subordinated Capital
Ratings" for further details.

                     Rating Actions in Detail

Moody's has taken these rating actions:

                              Nordea

Moody's downgraded Nordea Bank AB's BFSR to C+ (mapping to an A2
BCA) from B.  The outlook on the BFSR is negative.  At the same
time, the BFSRs of Nordea Bank Danmark and Nordea Bank Norge were
downgraded to C (mapping to A3 BCAs) from B-.  The outlook on
Nordea Bank Danmark's BFSR is negative, while the outlook on
Nordea Bank Norge's rating is stable.  Nordea Bank Finland's BFSR
was downgraded to B- (mapping to an A1 BCA) from B.  The outlook
on the Finnish subsidiary's BFSR is stable.

The downgrade of Nordea Bank's BFSR reflects the bank's capital
position in relation to anticipated losses in the credit portfolio
and weakening recurring earnings (pre-provision income in relation
to total assets).

Nordea Bank AB's commercial loan portfolio displays some
concentration towards commercial real estate and large corporates.
Exposure to more risky segments such as shipping and lending to
the Baltic area constitutes less than 5%.  In addition to these
exposures, the bank exhibits concentrated single-name exposure and
exposure to private equity.  The combination of these factors
exerts downward pressure on the bank's Tier 1 capital level, which
stood at 9.9% at the end of June 2009 (under transitional rules
towards Basel II and excluding interim profits).  Earnings are on
a downward trend despite solid net interest income.  These factors
may lead to a BFSR towards the lower end of the C+ range, which is
reflected in the negative outlook.

Moody's downgrade of Nordea Bank Danmark's BFSR mainly reflects
the anticipated losses on its loan portfolio, notably in relation
to Danish agriculture, SME's and larger corporates.  Although the
anticipated losses are not that high, its low capital level would
be pressurized under this scenario and the entity's strength is
more in line with that of the lower range of C rated entities,
which explains the negative outlook.

Nordea Bank Norge's high exposure to shipping and commercial real
estate exerts more pressure on its capital than its earnings can
mitigate, leading to the C BFSR.  However, its capital level is
still better than that of the Danish subsidiary and the rating
therefore carries a stable outlook.

Nordea Bank Finland's B- BFSR is one of the highest in the Nordic
area, reflecting the high capital ratio that enables the bank to
absorb losses under Moody's anticipated scenario.  The main risks
are the commercial property portfolio, large corporates and the
group's Baltic exposure, which are booked in Nordea Bank Finland.

Nordea Bank's debt and deposit ratings were downgraded to Aa2 from
Aa1.  The ratings of the three subsidiaries, Nordea Bank Danmark,
Nordea Bank Finland and Nordea Bank Norge were also downgraded to
Aa2 from Aa1, reflecting the high integration of operations,
coupled with name and reputation risk and the ability of the group
to transfer capital to the subsidiaries if needed.  The outlook on
all the debt and deposit ratings is stable.

The uplift for Nordea Bank's long-term ratings from its BCA
reflects a very high probability of systemic support as a result
of its importance to the Swedish financial sector.  The uplifts
for Nordea Bank Danmark, Nordea Bank Finland and Nordea Bank Norge
reflect very high probabilities of parental support combined with
very high probabilities of systemic support, given that they are
leading banks in their respective countries.

                       Svenska Handelsbanken

Moody's downgraded SH's BFSR to C+ (mapping to an A2 BCA) from B,
with a negative outlook, reflecting the potential of rising credit
costs embedded within its loans, in particular its exposure to
property management companies.  Property management, which
includes commercial real estate, comprised a significant 24% of
SH's loans at the end of June 2009 and, in Moody's view, the
quality of that portfolio could be challenged by the difficult
economic conditions.  Moody's also remains cautious about the
bank's exposure to the overheated property and real estate market
in the UK, although it recognizes the relatively small size of
this exposure compared with the size of its total lending book.

On the positive side, Moody's notes that around one-quarter of
SH's total property management portfolio is related to residential
developments, which carry a lower risk than pure commercial real
estate lenders and that SH's exposure to higher-risk property
development projects is minimal.

Moody's review reflected these positive elements as well as the
bank's traditionally prudent culture, solid underwriting criteria
and relatively stable operating profitability.  However, the high
likelihood of asset quality deterioration, derived from Moody's
scenario analysis, exerts pressure on the bank's credit profile,
in particular on its capitalization, positioning the bank in line
with the upper end of the C range.  Moody's says that SH's credit
profile showed a strong resilience to its base scenario, which is
the key ratings determinant, but that there is significant
pressure on asset quality and capital adequacy under the more
stressed scenario.  While such a scenario is less likely than
Moody's baseline assumptions, the negative outlook on the BFSR
reflects the rating's vulnerability to further deterioration of
the operating environment.

Moody's says that SH's debt and deposit ratings were only
downgraded by one notch because of the bank's leading position in
the Swedish market.  As a result of the rating agency's assessment
of a very high probability of systemic support for SH on the one
hand and the downgrade of the BFSR on the other, the long-term
deposit and senior debt ratings were downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1.
The outlook on these ratings is stable, reflecting the bank's very
high systemic importance and Moody's view that its valuable
franchise will remain intact throughout the crisis.

                            Swedbank AB

Moody's downgraded Swedbank's BFSR to D+ (mapping to a Baa3 BCA)
from C-, with a negative outlook, reflecting pressure exerted by
potential further deterioration in all of Swedbank group's
markets, in particular the Baltic States and Ukraine.  The credit
costs of Swedbank's international exposure have climbed materially
over the past year and, in Moody's assessment, will remain high in
the near term, continuing to severely weaken the bank's
profitability and capitalization.

Moody's previous rating actions already incorporated expected
credit losses from the bank's loan portfolio in Swedbank's
ratings.  However, given a more severe weakening of macro-economic
conditions in the Baltic countries and Ukraine, coupled with
worsened economic conditions in Sweden, the rating agency reviewed
and further increased its loss expectations from its initial
expectations and incorporated those revised assumptions into its
scenario analysis.

The rating agency says that Swedbank's recent decision to raise a
sizeable amount of common equity improves the ability of its
capital base to absorb expected losses.  However, even taking this
into account, Moody's scenario analysis shows that Swedbank's BFSR
is better positioned in the D range, given the upward revision of
the rating agency's loss assumptions for the bank's Baltic
countries credit exposure and the extent of its potential
financial deterioration, particularly under Moody's more severe
scenario.

The negative outlook on the BFSR reflects the possibility that a
more pronounced economic downturn than Moody's currently expects
in the bank's main operating markets could have a direct and
severe impact on Swedbank's credit quality, further weakening its
earnings and capitalization.  Despite the negative rating actions,
Moody's notes that the bank, under new senior management, is
taking more effective and decisive actions to contain and manage
the asset quality downturn and improve the group's organizational
and operational efficiency, and that this could, over time,
improve the bank's risk profile.

Swedbank's deposit and debt ratings were downgraded to A2 from A1
and continue to receive a sizeable uplift from the weak BCA.  This
reflects the bank's key systemic importance to the Swedish banking
sector and therefore Moody's assessment of a very high probability
of systemic support.  The ratings also incorporate the challenges
that the bank faces in maintaining its leading franchise during
the crisis.

Swedbank's hybrid debt was downgraded to Baa2 for the cumulative
junior subordinated debt and Ba1 for the non-cumulative Tier 1
securities.  The wider notching than under Moody's current
methodology reflects the rating agency's observation that
Swedbank's weak earnings prospects have increased the risk of
coupon deferral, although it believes this risk still remains low.
The Tier 1 instrument is rated two notches lower than the
cumulative subordinated debt because of its lower ranking in
liquidation and the greater loss severity of skipped coupons due
to its non-cumulative nature.

The outlook on Swedbank's long-term deposit and debt ratings is
negative, in line with the negative outlook on the BFSR.

The ratings of Swedbank AB's two Ukrainian subsidiaries Public
Joint Stock Company "Swedbank" (rated B3/B1/NP/E) and its
subsidiary Private Joint Stock Company "Swedbank Invest" (rated
B3/B1/NP/E) were not changed as a result of the rating action on
their parent bank.

                        Swedbank Mortgage

As a result of the downgrade of Swedbank's ratings, the senior and
dated subordinated ratings of Swedbank Mortgage were downgraded by
one notch to A2 and A3.

At the same time, Moody's placed all ratings of Swedbank Mortgage,
including its short-term rating of Prime-1, on review for possible
downgrade.  The review of this entity will now focus on assessing
the potential implications for the entity's ratings of the
application of Moody's methodology, entitled "Moody's Approach to
Rating Financial Entities Specialized in Issuing Covered Bonds",
published in August 2009.

Moody's notes that the government-backed short-term P-1 rating
that Moody's assigns to the instruments benefiting from the
Swedish government guarantee remains unchanged and unaffected by
this rating action.

                            Swedbank AS

Moody's downgraded Swedbank AS's BFSR to D- (mapping to a Ba3 BCA)
from D, with a negative outlook, reflecting Moody's view that the
deterioration in the Baltic operating environment is putting
pressure on the bank's financial fundamentals.

Similar to its parent bank, Swedbank AB, Moody's previous rating
actions on Swedbank AS already incorporated expected credit losses
from the bank's loan portfolio in its ratings.  However, the
operating environment in the three Baltic countries has
deteriorated faster than Moody's previously expected.  Therefore,
as explained above, the rating agency reviewed its scenario
analysis assumptions and further increased its loss expectations
(please refer to Moody's Special Comment: "Moody's Approach to
Estimating Baltic Bank's Credit Losses", published in August
2009).

The results of Moody's scenario analysis showed that Swedbank AS's
key credit drivers, in particular its capital adequacy, became
significantly weaker in their respective BFSR categories as a
result of the anticipated deterioration in asset quality.  Moody's
key concerns relate to the bank's exposure to the real estate
management and construction sectors, which together accounted for
around 17% of the loan portfolio at the end of June 2009.  That
said, given the weakening operating environment, the rating agency
expects all industry sectors to be adversely affected.

The downgrade of Swedbank AS's long-term bank deposit and senior
debt ratings to Baa3 reflects the weaker intrinsic financial
strength of the bank, as indicated by the D- BFSR as well as the
downgrade of its parent.  However, Moody's assesses a very high
probability of support from its parent and a moderate probability
of systemic support, which leads to a three-notch uplift for the
deposit and debt ratings from the Ba3 BCA.

Moody's negative outlook on Swedbank AS's ratings reflects the
difficult operating environment in the Baltic region.

                           Landshypotek

Moody's downgraded LH's BFSR to C (mapping to an A3 BCA) from C+.
As LH's deposit ratings do not benefit from any uplift as a result
of Moody's assessment of the probability of systemic support, the
one-notch lowering of the BFSR resulted in a one-notch downgrade
of the deposit ratings, to A3/Prime-2 from A2/Prime-1.

The BFSR downgrade reflects Moody's expectation of deterioration
in LH's asset quality, driven by the weakening of the Swedish
economy.  Moody's scenario analysis showed that LH's satisfactory
capitalisation and exposure to low-risk agriculture lending to
private individuals partly offsets its modest pre-provision
profitability (which results in low capital generation ability),
and therefore limited the downgrade to one notch.

The rating agency notes that LH's BFSR showed good resilience to
the base scenario and considerably higher losses would be needed
for the rating to come under further downward pressure.  However,
Moody's considers that the negative outlook on the BFSR and long-
term deposit rating appropriately reflects potential pressure on
LH under a worsened macro-economic scenario.

                     Rating Actions in Summary

                          Nordea Bank AB

  -- BFSR downgraded to C+ from B, with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit rating downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Subordinate ratings downgraded to Aa3 from Aa2, with stable
     outlook;

  -- Junior subordinate ratings downgraded to A1 from Aa3, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Prime-1 short-term ratings were not affected.

Moody's last rating action on Nordea Bank AB was on July 22, 2009,
when the BFSR and long-term ratings were placed on review for
possible downgrade.

                     Nordea Bank Danmark A/S

  -- BFSR downgraded to C from B-, with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit rating downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Prime-1 short-term ratings were not affected.

Moody's last rating action on Nordea Bank Danmark A/S was on
July 22, 2009, when the BFSR and long-term ratings were placed on
review for possible downgrade.

                      Nordea Bank Norge ASA

  -- BFSR downgraded to C from B-, with stable outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit rating downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Subordinate ratings downgraded to Aa3 from Aa2, with stable
     outlook;

  -- Prime-1 short-term ratings were not affected.

Moody's last rating action on Nordea Bank Norge ASA was on
July 22, 2009, when the BFSR and long-term ratings were placed on
review for possible downgrade.

                     Nordea Bank Finland Plc

  -- BFSR downgraded to B- from B, with stable outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit rating downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Subordinate ratings downgraded to Aa3 from Aa2, with stable
     outlook;

  -- Prime-1 short-term ratings were not affected.

Moody's last rating action on Nordea Bank Finland Plc was on
July 22, 2009, when the BFSR and long-term ratings were placed on
review for possible downgrade.

                      Svenska Handelsbanken

  -- BFSR downgraded to C+ from B, with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings downgraded to
     Aa2 from Aa1, with stable outlook;

  -- Subordinated debt rating downgraded to Aa3 from Aa2, with
     stable outlook;

  -- Hybrid debt rating downgraded to A1 from Aa3, with stable
     outlook;

Moody's last rating action on Svenska Handelsbanken AB was on
July 22, 2009, when the bank financial strength rating and long-
term debt and deposit ratings were placed on review for possible
downgrade.

                            Swedbank AB

  -- BFSR downgraded to D+ (mapping to a BCA of Baa3) from C-,
     with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings downgraded to
     A2 from A1, with negative outlook;

  -- Subordinated debt (Lower Tier 2) downgraded to A3 from A2,
     with negative outlook;

  -- Undated junior subordinated debt (Upper Tier 2) downgraded to
     Baa2 from A2 with negative outlook;

  -- Non-cumulative perpetual capital securities (Tier 1)
     downgraded to Ba1 from A3, with negative outlook;

Moody's last rating action on Swedbank AB was on April 27, 2009,
when BFSR and long-term debt and deposit ratings were placed on
review for possible downgrade.

                       Swedbank Mortgage AB

  -- Long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings downgraded to
     A2 on review for possible downgrade from A1;

  -- Dated subordinated debt rating downgraded to A3, on review
     for possible downgrade, from A2;

  -- Short-term deposit and other short-term debt ratings Prime-1
     on review for possible downgrade.

Moody's last rating action on Swedbank Mortgage AB was on
April 27, 2009, when the senior and unsubordinated debt ratings
were placed on review for possible downgrade.

                           Swedbank AS

  -- BFSR downgraded to D- from D, with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings downgraded to
     Baa3 from Baa2, with negative outlook;

  -- Subordinated debt rating downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, with
     negative outlook;

  -- Short-term deposit and other short-term debt ratings
     downgraded to P-3 from P-2.

Moody's last rating action on Swedbank AS was on April 27, 2009,
when all the ratings were placed on review for possible downgrade.

                         Landshypotek AB

  -- BFSR downgraded to C from C+, with negative outlook;

  -- Long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings downgraded to
     A3 from A2, with negative outlook;

  -- Short-term deposit rating downgraded to P-2 from P-1.

Moody's last rating action on Landshypotek AB was on July 22, 2009
when all the ratings were placed on review for possible downgrade.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Nordea Bank AB reported total
assets of EUR476 billion at the end of June 2009.

Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Nordea Bank Danmark A/S
reported total assets of DKK1,014 billion (EUR136 billion) at the
end of June 2009.

Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Nordea Bank Norge ASA reported
total assets of NOK536 billion (EUR59 billion) at the end of June
2009.

Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Nordea Bank Finland Plc
reported total assets of EUR207 billion at the end of June 2009

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Svenska Handelsbanken AB
reported total consolidated assets of SEK2,155 billion
(EUR198 billion) as of June 30, 2009.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Swedbank AB reported total
consolidated assets of SEK1,796 billion (EUR165 billion) as of
June 30, 2009.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Swedbank Mortgage AB reported
total consolidated assets of SEK802 billion (EUR74 billion) as of
June 30, 2009.

Headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, Swedbank AS reported total
assets of EEK366 billion (EUR23 billion) as of June 30, 2009.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Landshypotek AB reported total
consolidated assets of SEK54 billion (EUR4.9 billion) as of
March 31, 2009.


=====================
S W I T Z E R L A N D
=====================


ANTHEM VENTURES: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
-------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Anthem Ventures GmbH are requested to file their
proofs of claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         Dr.jur. Wilhelm G. Boner
         Pelzgasse 15
         5001 Aarau
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Aarau.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at a shareholders' meeting
held on April 28, 2009.


CAM&MORE GMBH: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of CAM&more GmbH are requested to file their proofs of
claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         CAM&more GmbH
         Unterdorfstr.24
         9443 Widnau
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Widnau.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at a shareholders' meeting
held on July 16, 2009.


FORECAST AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
---------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Forecast AG are requested to file their proofs of
claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         BZ Berater Zentrum Treuhand AG
         Schaffhauserstrasse 470
         8052 Zurich
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Zurich.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
general meeting held on June 22, 2009.


GASTRO-DELIGHTS GMBH: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Gastro-Delights GmbH are requested to file their
proofs of claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         B. Jud Treuhand
         Grossackerstrasse 43
         8152 Opfikon
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Zurich.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
shareholders' meeting held on June 10, 2009.


KEY-KREDIT AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 15
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Key-Kredit AG are requested to file their proofs of
claim by September 15, 2009, to:

         RST Treuhand AG
         Peter Merian-Str. 54
         4052 Basel
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Basel.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
general meeting held on June 30, 2009.


KPLC GMBH: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
-------------------------------------------------
Creditors of KPLC GmbH are requested to file their proofs of claim
by September 14, 2009, to:

         NVC Neutrales VersicherungsCenter AG
         Nauenstrasse 41
         4051 Basel
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Bottmingen.
The decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
shareholders' meeting held on June 24, 2009.


LCM ESTER: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
-------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LCM Ester GmbH are requested to file their proofs of
claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         Marcel Joss
         Liquidator
         Wolleraustrasse 31
         8834 Schindellegi
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Baar.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
shareholders' meeting held on July 10, 2009.


MENZIN AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
-------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Menzin AG are requested to file their proofs of claim
by September 14, 2009, to:

         Margrit Kottmann
         Liquidator
         Schulstrasse 3
         5525 Fischbach-Goeslikon
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Fischbach-
Goeslikon.  The decision about liquidation was accepted at a
general meeting held on June 25, 2009.


OHA-GERUESTBAU GMBH: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
-----------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of OHA-Geruestbau GmbH are requested to file their
proofs of claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         OHA Geruestbau GmbH
         In Lampitzaeckern 60
         8305 Dietlikon
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Dietlikon.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at a shareholders' meeting
held on May 15, 2009.


PETROPLUS HOLDINGS: S&P Affirms 'BB' Corporate Credit Rating
------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it affirmed its 'BB' long-
term corporate credit rating on Switzerland-based oil refinery
group Petroplus Holdings AG.  The outlook is negative.

At the same time, S&P has assigned a preliminary 'BB-' debt rating
to Petroplus' proposed US$150 million convertible bond and
proposed US$400 million bond to be issued by Petroplus Finance
Ltd. (Bermuda).  These bonds have a recovery rating of '5',
indicating S&P's expectation of modest (10%-30%) recovery in the
event of a payment default.  Preliminary ratings are subject to
final documentation.

The affirmation follows Petroplus' announcement that it intends to
refinance a US$500 million convertible bond and raise US$250
million-US$300 million in equity.  The convertible bond will be
replaced by a new $150 million convertible bond and a new US$400
million bond.

"In S&P's view, the planned bond refinancing and equity injection
should strengthen the group's liquidity and improve its debt
maturity profile," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Per
Karlsson.  "Despite this, S&P believes that pressure from the
difficult refining market may continue to weigh on profitability
and free cash flow.  Consequently, the outlook remains negative."

S&P views the announcement as an indication of Petroplus' prudent
management through the current economic downturn.  The proposed
transactions should:

* Extend Petroplus' debt maturity profile.  The first major debt
  maturity will subsequently be in 2014; and

* Increase financial flexibility, thanks to additional equity
  capital.

Petroplus' 2009 performance has so far been weak, in S&P's
opinion, given highly unfavorable industry conditions that could
persist in the short to medium term.  Owing mainly to a depressed
diesel crack spread, Petroplus generated adjusted EBITDA of only
$116 million in the second quarter of 2009.  Because roughly 47%
of Petroplus' output consists of middle distillates, S&P is
concerned that the group's cash flow generation will remain
subdued.  Current annualized first-half figures show a ratio of
funds from operations to debt of about 17%.  However, at the
current rating level, S&P expects FFO to debt to be 20%-25%.

The ratings reflect Petroplus' acquisitive growth strategy,
exposure to the cyclical and highly competitive northwest European
refining environment, and below-average cost structure and
profitability.  These weaknesses are partly offset by adequate
asset diversity through seven refineries in the U.K., Germany,
Belgium, France, and Switzerland.  Other positive factors are the
group's experienced management team and S&P's assumption that the
group's balance sheet will continue to have a structure that S&P
consider to be satisfactory.

"The outlook is negative because S&P believes that Petroplus'
profits and cash flows will likely remain constrained by the
currently difficult industry environment," said Mr. Karlsson.


PLANTARIA AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Plantaria AG are requested to file their proofs of
claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         Plantaria AG
         Bundesstrasse 3
         6304 Zug
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Zug.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
general meeting held on June 24, 2009.


PROFESSIONAL PROJECT: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Professional Project Propro GmbH are requested to
file their proofs of claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         Dr. Olivier Mermod
         Termerweg 14
         3900 Brig
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Brig-Glis.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
shareholders' meeting held on July 14, 2009.


RED'S LEMONGRASS: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
--------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Red's Lemongrass GmbH are requested to file their
proofs of claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         Andreas Byland
         Bundesgasse 26
         3001 Bern
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Bern.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at a shareholders' meeting
held on July 2, 2009.


RONDO SPONSOR: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Rondo Sponsor AG are requested to file their proofs
of claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         Kurt Stoller
         Liquidator
         Schulstrasse 3
         5525 Fischbach-Goeslikon
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Romanshorn.
The decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
general meeting held on July 8, 2009.


SCHLUESSEL ITIN: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Schluessel Itin AG are requested to file their proofs
of claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         Schluessel Itin AG
         Fischmarkt 8
         4410 Liestal
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Liestal.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
general meeting held on July 23, 2009.


SIERRA OIL: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
--------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Sierra Oil Enterprises AG are requested to file their
proofs of claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         Fiscom Treuhand GmbH
         Haldenstrasse 5
         6342 Baar
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Zug.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
general meeting held on July 16, 2009.


TEX-BO AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
-------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Tex-Bo AG are requested to file their proofs of claim
by September 14, 2009, to:

         Gruebler Peter
         Liquidator
         Hornhaldenstrasse 49
         8802 Kilchberg
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Kilchberg.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
general meeting on July 7, 2009.


TOUCHFON SWITZERLAND: Claims Filing Deadline is September 15
------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Touchfon Switzerland GmbH are requested to file their
proofs of claim by September 15, 2009, to:

         RST Treuhand AG
         Peter Merian-Str. 54
         4052 Basel
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Basel.  The
decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary
shareholders' meeting held on June 30, 2009.


UBS AG: Must Set Aside US$35.5MM for Pursuit Partners Lawsuit
-------------------------------------------------------------
Carrick Mollenkamp and Serena Ng at The Wall Street Journal
reports Connecticut Court Judge John F. Blawie has ruled that UBS
AG set aside US$35.5 million to cover a potential judgment against
it in a case involving debt securities that employees called
"crap" and "vomit".

The Journal relates that hedge fund Pursuit Partners LLC claims
that UBS sold investment-grade debt securities to the firm in
2007, though the Company knew that the securities were about to be
downgraded by ratings agencies.  Judge Blawie's ruling cited UBS
e-mails that showed UBS workers discussing possible Moody's rating
downgrades in July 2007 before the Company sold the securities to
Pursuit Partners, The Journal states.

According to The Journal, Pursuit Partners agreed to invest in the
debt securities between July and October 2007.  The Journal says
that in October, Moody's Ratings Service downgraded billions of
dollars of CDOs, including those that the hedge fund bought, and a
few months later, Pursuit Partners' securities defaulted and it
lost its entire investment.

Citing Judge Blawie, The Journal states that Pursuit Partners had
"presented sufficient evidence to satisfy the probable cause
standard with respect to their claim that UBS was in possession of
superior knowledge that was not readily available" to the company.

UBS said in a statement that the decision is "preliminary" and
that it believes it would "prevail on the merits of the case."
According to UBS' statement, Judge Blawie's decision was a
"preliminary procedure to require defendants to post security
while a case is pending, nothing more.  The decision is not a
decision on the merits or a prediction of the outcome of the case.
UBS is confident that it will prevail on the merits of the case."

Based in Zurich, Switzerland, UBS AG (VTX:UBSN) --
http://www.ubs.com/-- is a global provider of financial services
for wealthy clients.  UBS's financial businesses are organized on
a worldwide basis into three Business Groups and the Corporate
Center.  Global Wealth Management & Business Banking consists of
three segments: Wealth Management International & Switzerland,
Wealth Management US and Business Banking Switzerland.  The
Business Groups Investment Bank and Global Asset Management
constitute one segment each.  The Industrial Holdings segment
holds all industrial operations controlled by the Group.  Global
Asset Management provides investment products and services to
institutional investors and wholesale intermediaries around the
globe.  The Investment Bank operates globally as a client-driven
investment banking and securities firm.  The Industrial Holdings
segment comprises the non-financial businesses of UBS, including
the private equity business, which primarily invests UBS and
third-party funds in unlisted companies.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe, UBS has
amassed more than US$53 billion in writedowns and losses since the
credit crisis began.  The bank expects to post a loss in the
second quarter of 2009.  The bank's net loss for full-year 2008
widened to CHF19.697 billion from of CHF5.247 million in the prior
year.  Net losses from continuing operations totaled
CHF19.327 billion, compared with losses of CHF5.111 billion in the
prior year.  UBS attributed the losses to negative revenues in its
fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) area.  For the
2008 fourth quarter, UBS incurred a net loss of CHF8.100 billion,
down from a net profit of CHF296 million.  Net loss from
continuing operations was CHF7.997 billion compared with a profit
of CHF433 million.  The Investment Bank recorded a pre-tax loss of
CHF7.483 billion, compared with a pre-tax loss of CHF2.748 billion
in the prior quarter.  This result was primarily due to trading
losses, losses on exposures to monolines and impairment charges
taken against leveraged finance commitments.  An own credit charge
of CHF1.616 billion was recorded by the Investment Bank in fourth
quarter 2008, mainly due to redemptions and repurchases of UBS
debt during this period.

UBS said it will further reduce its headcount to 15,000 by the end
of the year.  UBS's personnel numbers reduced to 77,783 on
December 31, 2008, down by 1,782 from September 30, 2008, with
most staff reductions at its investment banking unit.


UNIFALC AG: Claims Filing Deadline is September 14
--------------------------------------------------
Creditors of Unifalc AG are requested to file their proofs of
claim by September 14, 2009, to:

         Wolf Martin
         Glaernischstr.5
         8636 Wald ZH
         Switzerland

The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Wetzikon ZH.
The decision about liquidation was accepted at a general meeting
held on December 23, 1998.


=============
U K R A I N E
=============


ADAMIN LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Adamin (code EDRPOU 36271132) have until
September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         O. Tomashevsky
         Insolvency Manager
         Office 72
         Rabochaya Str. 7
         Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Nikolayev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on August 4, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 5/215/09.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Nikolayev
         Admiralskaya Str. 22-a
         54009 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Adamin
         Admiralskaya Str. 2/2
         Nikolayev
         Ukraine


AGROBUDEXPORT LTD: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
-------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Agrobudexport Ltd. (code EDRPOU 34651331) have
until September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to M. Tsurika,
the company's insolvency manager.

The Economic Court of Nikolayev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on August 11, 2009.  The case is docketed
under Case No. 5/232/09.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Nikolayev
         Admiralskaya Str. 22-a
         54009 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Agrobudexport Ltd.
         Office 153
         Mir Ave. 19
         54044 Nikolayev
         Ukraine


AGROTREND-NK-S LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
--------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Agrotrend-NK-S (code EDRPOU 36433750) have until
September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         O. Tomashevsky
         Insolvency Manager
         Office 72
         Rabochaya Str. 7
         Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Nikolayev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on August 4, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 5/213/09.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Nikolayev
         Admiralskaya Str. 22-a
         54009 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Agrotrend-NK-S
         Veselinovskaya Str. 51/1
         Nikolayev
         Ukraine


ATLANT-SOUTH LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Atlant-South (code EDRPOU 35889951) have until
September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         A. Bezabchuk
         Insolvency Manager
         Post Office Box 14
         54056 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Nikolayev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on July 28, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 5/210/09.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Nikolayev
         Admiralskaya Str. 22-a
         54009 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Atlant-South
         Dekabristov Str. 15/48
         Nikolayev
         Ukraine


B.S.B. LLC: Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure
---------------------------------------------------------
The Economic Court of Donetsk commenced bankruptcy supervision
procedure on LLC Guarding Firm B.S.B. (code EDRPOU 25341481).

The Insolvency Manager is:

         V. Petrenko
         Office 1
         25 years of RSCA avenue 6
         83001 Donetsk
         Ukraine

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Donetsk
         Artem Str. 157
         Donetsk
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Guarding Firm B.S.B.
         Artem Ave. 43
         Donetsk
         Ukraine


BUDINFORMSERVICE LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
----------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Building Company Budinformservice (code EDRPOU
34432378) have until September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim
to:

         V. Shevchenko
         Insolvency Manager
         Office 199
         Kniazhy Zaton Str. 12
         02095 Kiev
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Kiev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on August 3, 2009. The case is docketed under
Case No. 44/416-b.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Kiev
         B. Hmelnitskiy Str. 44-b
         01030 Kiev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Building Company Budinformservice
         Pimonenko Str. 34
         03062 Kiev
         Ukraine


COMTRADE LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
--------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Comtrade (code EDRPOU 32379894) have until
September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         O. Slavnaya
         Insolvency Manager
         Fruktovaya Str. 67
         Makeyevka
         Donetsk
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Kiev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on August 7, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 43/299.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Kiev
         B. Hmelnitskiy Str. 44-b
         01030 Kiev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Comtrade
         Gamarnik Str. 56
         04075 Kiev
         Ukraine


DE-CO LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC De-Co (code EDRPOU 35989419) have until
September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         D. Shulga
         Insolvency Manager
         Raketnaya Str. 35
         54039 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Nikolayev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on August 11, 2009.  The case is docketed
under Case No. 5/233/09.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Nikolayev
         Admiralskaya Str. 22-a
         54009 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC De-Co
         Sadovaya Str. 1
         54055 Nikolayev
         Ukraine


GRONOS LTD: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Gronos Ltd. have until September 13, 2009, to
submit proofs of claim to M. Tsurika, the company's insolvency
manager.

The Economic Court of Nikolayev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on August 11, 2009.  The case is docketed
under Case No. 5/231/09.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Nikolayev
         Admiralskaya Str. 22-a
         54009 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Gronos Ltd.
         Polevaya Str. 3
         Kalinovka
         Zhovtnevy
         57212 Nikolayev
         Ukraine


INTER CAR: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Inter Car South (code EDRPOU 32332589) have until
September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         A. Bezabchuk
         Insolvency Manager
         Post Office Box 14
         54056 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Nikolayev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on July 28, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 5/208/09.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Nikolayev
         Admiralskaya Str. 22-a
         54009 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Inter Car South
         Dzerzhynsky Str. 186-A
         Nikolayev
         Ukraine


KOLANA LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Kolana (code EDRPOU 34510508) have until
September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         A. Bezabchuk
         Insolvency Manager
         Post Office Box 14
         54056 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Nikolayev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on July 28, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 5/207/09.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Nikolayev
         Admiralskaya Str. 22-a
         54009 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Kolana
         Sevastopolskaya Str. 205
         Nikolayev
         Ukraine


LARS-LTD LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
--------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Lars-Ltd. (code EDRPOU 35678946) have until
September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         V. Shevchenko
         Insolvency Manager
         Office 199
         Kniazhy Zaton Str. 12
         02095 Kiev
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Kiev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on August 3, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 44/417-b.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Kiev
         B. Hmelnitskiy Str. 44-b
         01030 Kiev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Lars-Ltd.
         Reuters Str. 35-A
         01034 Kiev
         Ukraine


MIKRIN-LTD LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
----------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Mikrin-Ltd. (code EDRPOU 33310147) have until
September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         A. Popov
         Insolvency Manager
         Post Office Box 7
         Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Nikolayev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on July 28, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 5/202/09.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Nikolayev
         Admiralskaya Str. 22-a
         54009 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Mikrin-Ltd.
         Sovetskaya Str. 6-8
         54001 Nikolayev
         Ukraine


NOVOPROJECTSPECIALBUD LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by Sept. 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Novoprojectspecialbud (code EDRPOU 34794424) have
until September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         V. Varakina
         Insolvency Manager
         Balochnaya Str. 3
         Makeyevka
         Donetsk
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Kiev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on August 7, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 43/300.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Kiev
         B. Hmelnitskiy Str. 44-b
         01030 Kiev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Novoprojectspecialbud
         Tchapayev Str. 10
         01030 Kiev
         Ukraine


OTP BANK: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to 'D-'
-------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has taken rating actions on five
Ukrainian banks: the Bank Financial Strength Ratings of OTP Bank
Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval, UkrSibbank and Ukrsotsbank were
downgraded by one notch with a negative outlook, whilst debt,
deposit and National Scale Ratings of these banks were affirmed.
The BFSR of VAB Bank was downgraded by one notch with a stable
outlook, whilst its local currency deposit and foreign currency
debt ratings have been downgraded by two notches and foreign
currency deposit rating was downgraded by one notch with a
negative outlook.  These rating actions conclude a rating review
initiated by Moody's on April 2, 2009.

These ratings have been downgraded:

  -- OTP Bank Ukraine: BFSR to D- from D

  -- Raiffeisen Bank Aval: BFSR to D- from D

  -- UkrSibbank: BFSR to D- from D

  -- Ukrsotsbank: BFSR to D- from D

  -- VAB Bank: BFSR to E from E+, local currency deposit rating to
     Caa1 from B2, senior unsecured debt rating to Caa1 from B2
     and national scale rating (NSR) to Ba2.ua from A3.ua.

The rating actions do not affect these ratings of the
aforementioned issuers:

  -- OTP Bank Ukraine: Long-term local currency deposit rating of
     Ba1, foreign currency deposit rating of B3, short-term Not
     Prime deposit and debt ratings and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- Raiffeisen Bank Aval: Long-term local currency deposit rating
     of Ba1, foreign currency deposit rating of B3, local currency
     debt rating of Ba1, short-term Not Prime deposit and debt
     ratings, national scale debt rating of Aaa.ua and national
     scale deposit rating of Aa1.ua.

  -- UkrSibbank: Long-term local currency deposit rating of Ba1,
     foreign currency deposit rating of B3, foreign currency debt
     rating of B1, short-term Not Prime deposit and debt ratings
     and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- Ukrsotsbank: Long-term local currency deposit rating of Ba1,
     foreign currency deposit rating of B3, local currency debt
     rating of Ba1, foreign currency debt rating of B1, short-term
     Not Prime deposit and debt ratings and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- VAB Bank: Short-term Not Prime deposit rating.

The rating action concludes the review for possible downgrade
initiated by the rating agency on April 2, 2009.  The review was
driven by Moody's concerns about the potential impact of the
enduring economic downturn in Ukraine on these banks' asset
quality and financial performance, putting a further negative
pressure on the banks' capital levels.

When concluding the review, Moody's applied a number of scenarios
(base-case and stressed) to the banks' loan books to assess the
impact of currently reported as well as anticipated deterioration
of asset quality on the banks' capitalization and profitability.
The application of these scenarios has revealed that the asset
quality deterioration experienced by Ukrainian banks was mostly in
line with Moody's previous expectations for the base-case
scenario, although for some asset classes (in particular, foreign-
currency-denominated mortgages and car loans) the level of
delinquencies is approaching stressed scenario levels as detailed
in Moody's Special Comment "Estimating Bank Credit Losses for
Financial Institutions in the CIS" published in July 2009.  The
on-going de-leveraging pursued by these banks is also reducing the
banks' ability to generate earnings and absorb future credit
losses.

Moody's further notes that an additional factor contributing to
the rating agency's expectation of asset quality deterioration is
denomination of significant amounts of loans (varies from 54% to
91%, depending on a bank) and liabilities (varies from 65% to 92%,
depending on a bank) of these banks in foreign currencies, mainly
in US dollars, whereby the notable weakening of the Ukrainian
hryvnia has materially impacted the ability of these banks'
borrowers to repay their foreign currency loans, contributing to
further substantial increase in non-performing loans and loan loss
provisioning charges by the affected banks.

Based on these developments, Moody's anticipates that even after
taking into account already announced and accomplished capital
injections by these Ukrainian banks in 2009, the capital position
of these banks has been weakened and is unlikely to be restored to
the previous level in the short-to-medium term, thus weakening the
banks' stand-alone credit risk profiles and thus necessitating the
downgrades of these banks' BFSRs.

Moody's further commented that it has affirmed debt and deposit
ratings of OTP Bank Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval, UkrSibbank and
Ukrsotsbank, as these ratings continue to be underpinned by
parental support provided to these banks by their parent banks,
all being large EU banking groups.  Moody's believe that parental
support is likely to be forthcoming for these Ukrainian banks due
to the reputational risk considerations by the respective parent
banks and due to continued strategic fit of these bank's
operations into their parent bank strategies.

The last rating actions for OTP Bank Ukraine and VAB Bank was on
May 12, 2009, when the long-term global foreign currency deposit
ratings of the these banks were downgraded to B3 from B2 with a
negative outlook following Moody's rating action on the sovereign
ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits for Ukraine.

The last rating actions for Ukrsotsbank was on May 12, 2009, when
the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, the long-term
foreign currency debt rating was downgraded to B1 (from Ba3) with
a negative outlook, and the local currency debt rating was
downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, following Moody's rating action on
the sovereign ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and
foreign and local bonds for Ukraine.

The last rating actions for UkrSibbank was on May 12, 2009, when
the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, and the long-
term foreign currency debt rating was downgraded to B1 (from Ba3)
with a negative outlook, following Moody's rating action on the
sovereign ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and bonds for
Ukraine.

The last rating actions for Raiffeisen Aval was on May 12, 2009,
when the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, the local
currency debt rating was downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, and the
national scale rating was downgraded to Aa1.ua from Aaa.ua,
following Moody's rating action on the sovereign ceiling for
foreign currency bank deposits and foreign and local bonds for
Ukraine.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, OTP Bank Ukraine's assets, as
reported under IFRS, amounted to US$4.5 billion as of year-end
2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval reported IFRS
total assets of US$8.8 billion at the year-end of 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, UkrSibbank reported IFRS total
assets of US$7 billion at year-end 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, Ukrsotsbank reported IFRS total
assets of US$6.4 billion at year-end 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, VAB Bank reported -- under local
accounting standards -- total assets of US$1 billion as at year-
end 2008.


PASSAT-CENTER NIKOLAYEV: Creditors Must File Claims by Sept. 13
---------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Passat-Center Nikolayev (code EDRPOU 33854445)
have until September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         A. Popov
         Insolvency Manager
         Post Office Box 7
         Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Nikolayev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on July 28, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 5/203/09.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Nikolayev
         Admiralskaya Str. 22-a
         54009 Nikolayev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Passat-Center Nikolayev
         Sovetskaya Str. 6
         54001 Nikolayev
         Ukraine


RAIFFEISEN BANK: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to D-
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has taken rating actions on five
Ukrainian banks: the Bank Financial Strength Ratings of OTP Bank
Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval, UkrSibbank and Ukrsotsbank were
downgraded by one notch with a negative outlook, whilst debt,
deposit and National Scale Ratings of these banks were affirmed.
The BFSR of VAB Bank was downgraded by one notch with a stable
outlook, whilst its local currency deposit and foreign currency
debt ratings have been downgraded by two notches and foreign
currency deposit rating was downgraded by one notch with a
negative outlook.  These rating actions conclude a rating review
initiated by Moody's on April 2, 2009.

These ratings have been downgraded:

  -- OTP Bank Ukraine: BFSR to D- from D

  -- Raiffeisen Bank Aval: BFSR to D- from D

  -- UkrSibbank: BFSR to D- from D

  -- Ukrsotsbank: BFSR to D- from D

  -- VAB Bank: BFSR to E from E+, local currency deposit rating to
     Caa1 from B2, senior unsecured debt rating to Caa1 from B2
     and national scale rating (NSR) to Ba2.ua from A3.ua.

The rating actions do not affect these ratings of the
aforementioned issuers:

  -- OTP Bank Ukraine: Long-term local currency deposit rating of
     Ba1, foreign currency deposit rating of B3, short-term Not
     Prime deposit and debt ratings and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- Raiffeisen Bank Aval: Long-term local currency deposit rating
     of Ba1, foreign currency deposit rating of B3, local currency
     debt rating of Ba1, short-term Not Prime deposit and debt
     ratings, national scale debt rating of Aaa.ua and national
     scale deposit rating of Aa1.ua.

  -- UkrSibbank: Long-term local currency deposit rating of Ba1,
     foreign currency deposit rating of B3, foreign currency debt
     rating of B1, short-term Not Prime deposit and debt ratings
     and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- Ukrsotsbank: Long-term local currency deposit rating of Ba1,
     foreign currency deposit rating of B3, local currency debt
     rating of Ba1, foreign currency debt rating of B1, short-term
     Not Prime deposit and debt ratings and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- VAB Bank: Short-term Not Prime deposit rating.

The rating action concludes the review for possible downgrade
initiated by the rating agency on April 2, 2009.  The review was
driven by Moody's concerns about the potential impact of the
enduring economic downturn in Ukraine on these banks' asset
quality and financial performance, putting a further negative
pressure on the banks' capital levels.

When concluding the review, Moody's applied a number of scenarios
(base-case and stressed) to the banks' loan books to assess the
impact of currently reported as well as anticipated deterioration
of asset quality on the banks' capitalization and profitability.
The application of these scenarios has revealed that the asset
quality deterioration experienced by Ukrainian banks was mostly in
line with Moody's previous expectations for the base-case
scenario, although for some asset classes (in particular, foreign-
currency-denominated mortgages and car loans) the level of
delinquencies is approaching stressed scenario levels as detailed
in Moody's Special Comment "Estimating Bank Credit Losses for
Financial Institutions in the CIS" published in July 2009.  The
on-going de-leveraging pursued by these banks is also reducing the
banks' ability to generate earnings and absorb future credit
losses.

Moody's further notes that an additional factor contributing to
the rating agency's expectation of asset quality deterioration is
denomination of significant amounts of loans (varies from 54% to
91%, depending on a bank) and liabilities (varies from 65% to 92%,
depending on a bank) of these banks in foreign currencies, mainly
in US dollars, whereby the notable weakening of the Ukrainian
hryvnia has materially impacted the ability of these banks'
borrowers to repay their foreign currency loans, contributing to
further substantial increase in non-performing loans and loan loss
provisioning charges by the affected banks.

Based on these developments, Moody's anticipates that even after
taking into account already announced and accomplished capital
injections by these Ukrainian banks in 2009, the capital position
of these banks has been weakened and is unlikely to be restored to
the previous level in the short-to-medium term, thus weakening the
banks' stand-alone credit risk profiles and thus necessitating the
downgrades of these banks' BFSRs.

Moody's further commented that it has affirmed debt and deposit
ratings of OTP Bank Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval, UkrSibbank and
Ukrsotsbank, as these ratings continue to be underpinned by
parental support provided to these banks by their parent banks,
all being large EU banking groups.  Moody's believe that parental
support is likely to be forthcoming for these Ukrainian banks due
to the reputational risk considerations by the respective parent
banks and due to continued strategic fit of these bank's
operations into their parent bank strategies.

The last rating actions for OTP Bank Ukraine and VAB Bank was on
May 12, 2009, when the long-term global foreign currency deposit
ratings of the these banks were downgraded to B3 from B2 with a
negative outlook following Moody's rating action on the sovereign
ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits for Ukraine.

The last rating actions for Ukrsotsbank was on May 12, 2009, when
the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, the long-term
foreign currency debt rating was downgraded to B1 (from Ba3) with
a negative outlook, and the local currency debt rating was
downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, following Moody's rating action on
the sovereign ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and
foreign and local bonds for Ukraine.

The last rating actions for UkrSibbank was on May 12, 2009, when
the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, and the long-
term foreign currency debt rating was downgraded to B1 (from Ba3)
with a negative outlook, following Moody's rating action on the
sovereign ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and bonds for
Ukraine.

The last rating actions for Raiffeisen Aval was on May 12, 2009,
when the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, the local
currency debt rating was downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, and the
national scale rating was downgraded to Aa1.ua from Aaa.ua,
following Moody's rating action on the sovereign ceiling for
foreign currency bank deposits and foreign and local bonds for
Ukraine.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, OTP Bank Ukraine's assets, as
reported under IFRS, amounted to US$4.5 billion as of year-end
2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval reported IFRS
total assets of US$8.8 billion at the year-end of 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, UkrSibbank reported IFRS total
assets of US$7 billion at year-end 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, Ukrsotsbank reported IFRS total
assets of US$6.4 billion at year-end 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, VAB Bank reported -- under local
accounting standards -- total assets of US$1 billion as at year-
end 2008.


RONDO-TRADE LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 13
-----------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Rondo-Trade (code EDRPOU 32821031) have until
September 13, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:

         V. Shelupets
         Insolvency Manager
         F. Kon Str. 5
         Donetsk
         Ukraine

The Economic Court of Kiev commenced bankruptcy proceedings
against the company on August 7, 2009.  The case is docketed under
Case No. 43/301.

The Court is located at:

         The Economic Court of Kiev
         B. Hmelnitskiy street 44-b
         01030 Kiev
         Ukraine

The Debtor can be reached at:

         LLC Rondo-Trade
         Tchokolovsky Blvd. 19
         03186 Kiev
         Ukraine


UKRSIBBANK: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to 'D-'
---------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has taken rating actions on five
Ukrainian banks: the Bank Financial Strength Ratings of OTP Bank
Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval, UkrSibbank and Ukrsotsbank were
downgraded by one notch with a negative outlook, whilst debt,
deposit and National Scale Ratings of these banks were affirmed.
The BFSR of VAB Bank was downgraded by one notch with a stable
outlook, whilst its local currency deposit and foreign currency
debt ratings have been downgraded by two notches and foreign
currency deposit rating was downgraded by one notch with a
negative outlook.  These rating actions conclude a rating review
initiated by Moody's on April 2, 2009.

These ratings have been downgraded:

  -- OTP Bank Ukraine: BFSR to D- from D

  -- Raiffeisen Bank Aval: BFSR to D- from D

  -- UkrSibbank: BFSR to D- from D

  -- Ukrsotsbank: BFSR to D- from D

  -- VAB Bank: BFSR to E from E+, local currency deposit rating to
     Caa1 from B2, senior unsecured debt rating to Caa1 from B2
     and national scale rating (NSR) to Ba2.ua from A3.ua.

The rating actions do not affect these ratings of the
aforementioned issuers:

  -- OTP Bank Ukraine: Long-term local currency deposit rating of
     Ba1, foreign currency deposit rating of B3, short-term Not
     Prime deposit and debt ratings and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- Raiffeisen Bank Aval: Long-term local currency deposit rating
     of Ba1, foreign currency deposit rating of B3, local currency
     debt rating of Ba1, short-term Not Prime deposit and debt
     ratings, national scale debt rating of Aaa.ua and national
     scale deposit rating of Aa1.ua.

  -- UkrSibbank: Long-term local currency deposit rating of Ba1,
     foreign currency deposit rating of B3, foreign currency debt
     rating of B1, short-term Not Prime deposit and debt ratings
     and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- Ukrsotsbank: Long-term local currency deposit rating of Ba1,
     foreign currency deposit rating of B3, local currency debt
     rating of Ba1, foreign currency debt rating of B1, short-term
     Not Prime deposit and debt ratings and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- VAB Bank: Short-term Not Prime deposit rating.

The rating action concludes the review for possible downgrade
initiated by the rating agency on April 2, 2009.  The review was
driven by Moody's concerns about the potential impact of the
enduring economic downturn in Ukraine on these banks' asset
quality and financial performance, putting a further negative
pressure on the banks' capital levels.

When concluding the review, Moody's applied a number of scenarios
(base-case and stressed) to the banks' loan books to assess the
impact of currently reported as well as anticipated deterioration
of asset quality on the banks' capitalization and profitability.
The application of these scenarios has revealed that the asset
quality deterioration experienced by Ukrainian banks was mostly in
line with Moody's previous expectations for the base-case
scenario, although for some asset classes (in particular, foreign-
currency-denominated mortgages and car loans) the level of
delinquencies is approaching stressed scenario levels as detailed
in Moody's Special Comment "Estimating Bank Credit Losses for
Financial Institutions in the CIS" published in July 2009.  The
on-going de-leveraging pursued by these banks is also reducing the
banks' ability to generate earnings and absorb future credit
losses.

Moody's further notes that an additional factor contributing to
the rating agency's expectation of asset quality deterioration is
denomination of significant amounts of loans (varies from 54% to
91%, depending on a bank) and liabilities (varies from 65% to 92%,
depending on a bank) of these banks in foreign currencies, mainly
in US dollars, whereby the notable weakening of the Ukrainian
hryvnia has materially impacted the ability of these banks'
borrowers to repay their foreign currency loans, contributing to
further substantial increase in non-performing loans and loan loss
provisioning charges by the affected banks.

Based on these developments, Moody's anticipates that even after
taking into account already announced and accomplished capital
injections by these Ukrainian banks in 2009, the capital position
of these banks has been weakened and is unlikely to be restored to
the previous level in the short-to-medium term, thus weakening the
banks' stand-alone credit risk profiles and thus necessitating the
downgrades of these banks' BFSRs.

Moody's further commented that it has affirmed debt and deposit
ratings of OTP Bank Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval, UkrSibbank and
Ukrsotsbank, as these ratings continue to be underpinned by
parental support provided to these banks by their parent banks,
all being large EU banking groups.  Moody's believe that parental
support is likely to be forthcoming for these Ukrainian banks due
to the reputational risk considerations by the respective parent
banks and due to continued strategic fit of these bank's
operations into their parent bank strategies.

The last rating actions for OTP Bank Ukraine and VAB Bank was on
May 12, 2009, when the long-term global foreign currency deposit
ratings of the these banks were downgraded to B3 from B2 with a
negative outlook following Moody's rating action on the sovereign
ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits for Ukraine.

The last rating actions for Ukrsotsbank was on May 12, 2009, when
the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, the long-term
foreign currency debt rating was downgraded to B1 (from Ba3) with
a negative outlook, and the local currency debt rating was
downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, following Moody's rating action on
the sovereign ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and
foreign and local bonds for Ukraine.

The last rating actions for UkrSibbank was on May 12, 2009, when
the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, and the long-
term foreign currency debt rating was downgraded to B1 (from Ba3)
with a negative outlook, following Moody's rating action on the
sovereign ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and bonds for
Ukraine.

The last rating actions for Raiffeisen Aval was on May 12, 2009,
when the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, the local
currency debt rating was downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, and the
national scale rating was downgraded to Aa1.ua from Aaa.ua,
following Moody's rating action on the sovereign ceiling for
foreign currency bank deposits and foreign and local bonds for
Ukraine.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, OTP Bank Ukraine's assets, as
reported under IFRS, amounted to US$4.5 billion as of year-end
2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval reported IFRS
total assets of US$8.8 billion at the year-end of 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, UkrSibbank reported IFRS total
assets of US$7 billion at year-end 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, Ukrsotsbank reported IFRS total
assets of US$6.4 billion at year-end 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, VAB Bank reported -- under local
accounting standards -- total assets of US$1 billion as at year-
end 2008.


UKRSOTSBANK: Moody's Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to 'D-'
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has taken rating actions on five
Ukrainian banks: the Bank Financial Strength Ratings of OTP Bank
Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval, UkrSibbank and Ukrsotsbank were
downgraded by one notch with a negative outlook, whilst debt,
deposit and National Scale Ratings of these banks were affirmed.
The BFSR of VAB Bank was downgraded by one notch with a stable
outlook, whilst its local currency deposit and foreign currency
debt ratings have been downgraded by two notches and foreign
currency deposit rating was downgraded by one notch with a
negative outlook.  These rating actions conclude a rating review
initiated by Moody's on April 2, 2009.

These ratings have been downgraded:

  -- OTP Bank Ukraine: BFSR to D- from D

  -- Raiffeisen Bank Aval: BFSR to D- from D

  -- UkrSibbank: BFSR to D- from D

  -- Ukrsotsbank: BFSR to D- from D

  -- VAB Bank: BFSR to E from E+, local currency deposit rating to
     Caa1 from B2, senior unsecured debt rating to Caa1 from B2
     and national scale rating (NSR) to Ba2.ua from A3.ua.

The rating actions do not affect these ratings of the
aforementioned issuers:

  -- OTP Bank Ukraine: Long-term local currency deposit rating of
     Ba1, foreign currency deposit rating of B3, short-term Not
     Prime deposit and debt ratings and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- Raiffeisen Bank Aval: Long-term local currency deposit rating
     of Ba1, foreign currency deposit rating of B3, local currency
     debt rating of Ba1, short-term Not Prime deposit and debt
     ratings, national scale debt rating of Aaa.ua and national
     scale deposit rating of Aa1.ua.

  -- UkrSibbank: Long-term local currency deposit rating of Ba1,
     foreign currency deposit rating of B3, foreign currency debt
     rating of B1, short-term Not Prime deposit and debt ratings
     and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- Ukrsotsbank: Long-term local currency deposit rating of Ba1,
     foreign currency deposit rating of B3, local currency debt
     rating of Ba1, foreign currency debt rating of B1, short-term
     Not Prime deposit and debt ratings and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- VAB Bank: Short-term Not Prime deposit rating.

The rating action concludes the review for possible downgrade
initiated by the rating agency on April 2, 2009.  The review was
driven by Moody's concerns about the potential impact of the
enduring economic downturn in Ukraine on these banks' asset
quality and financial performance, putting a further negative
pressure on the banks' capital levels.

When concluding the review, Moody's applied a number of scenarios
(base-case and stressed) to the banks' loan books to assess the
impact of currently reported as well as anticipated deterioration
of asset quality on the banks' capitalization and profitability.
The application of these scenarios has revealed that the asset
quality deterioration experienced by Ukrainian banks was mostly in
line with Moody's previous expectations for the base-case
scenario, although for some asset classes (in particular, foreign-
currency-denominated mortgages and car loans) the level of
delinquencies is approaching stressed scenario levels as detailed
in Moody's Special Comment "Estimating Bank Credit Losses for
Financial Institutions in the CIS" published in July 2009.  The
on-going de-leveraging pursued by these banks is also reducing the
banks' ability to generate earnings and absorb future credit
losses.

Moody's further notes that an additional factor contributing to
the rating agency's expectation of asset quality deterioration is
denomination of significant amounts of loans (varies from 54% to
91%, depending on a bank) and liabilities (varies from 65% to 92%,
depending on a bank) of these banks in foreign currencies, mainly
in US dollars, whereby the notable weakening of the Ukrainian
hryvnia has materially impacted the ability of these banks'
borrowers to repay their foreign currency loans, contributing to
further substantial increase in non-performing loans and loan loss
provisioning charges by the affected banks.

Based on these developments, Moody's anticipates that even after
taking into account already announced and accomplished capital
injections by these Ukrainian banks in 2009, the capital position
of these banks has been weakened and is unlikely to be restored to
the previous level in the short-to-medium term, thus weakening the
banks' stand-alone credit risk profiles and thus necessitating the
downgrades of these banks' BFSRs.

Moody's further commented that it has affirmed debt and deposit
ratings of OTP Bank Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval, UkrSibbank and
Ukrsotsbank, as these ratings continue to be underpinned by
parental support provided to these banks by their parent banks,
all being large EU banking groups.  Moody's believe that parental
support is likely to be forthcoming for these Ukrainian banks due
to the reputational risk considerations by the respective parent
banks and due to continued strategic fit of these bank's
operations into their parent bank strategies.

The last rating actions for OTP Bank Ukraine and VAB Bank was on
May 12, 2009, when the long-term global foreign currency deposit
ratings of the these banks were downgraded to B3 from B2 with a
negative outlook following Moody's rating action on the sovereign
ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits for Ukraine.

The last rating actions for Ukrsotsbank was on May 12, 2009, when
the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, the long-term
foreign currency debt rating was downgraded to B1 (from Ba3) with
a negative outlook, and the local currency debt rating was
downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, following Moody's rating action on
the sovereign ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and
foreign and local bonds for Ukraine.

The last rating actions for UkrSibbank was on May 12, 2009, when
the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, and the long-
term foreign currency debt rating was downgraded to B1 (from Ba3)
with a negative outlook, following Moody's rating action on the
sovereign ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and bonds for
Ukraine.

The last rating actions for Raiffeisen Aval was on May 12, 2009,
when the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, the local
currency debt rating was downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, and the
national scale rating was downgraded to Aa1.ua from Aaa.ua,
following Moody's rating action on the sovereign ceiling for
foreign currency bank deposits and foreign and local bonds for
Ukraine.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, OTP Bank Ukraine's assets, as
reported under IFRS, amounted to US$4.5 billion as of year-end
2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval reported IFRS
total assets of US$8.8 billion at the year-end of 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, UkrSibbank reported IFRS total
assets of US$7 billion at year-end 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, Ukrsotsbank reported IFRS total
assets of US$6.4 billion at year-end 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, VAB Bank reported -- under local
accounting standards -- total assets of US$1 billion as at year-
end 2008.


VAB BANK: Moody's Junks Senior Unsecured Debt & Deposit Ratings
---------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has taken rating actions on five
Ukrainian banks: the Bank Financial Strength Ratings of OTP Bank
Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval, UkrSibbank and Ukrsotsbank were
downgraded by one notch with a negative outlook, whilst debt,
deposit and National Scale Ratings of these banks were affirmed.
The BFSR of VAB Bank was downgraded by one notch with a stable
outlook, whilst its local currency deposit and foreign currency
debt ratings have been downgraded by two notches and foreign
currency deposit rating was downgraded by one notch with a
negative outlook.  These rating actions conclude a rating review
initiated by Moody's on April 2, 2009.

These ratings have been downgraded:

  -- OTP Bank Ukraine: BFSR to D- from D

  -- Raiffeisen Bank Aval: BFSR to D- from D

  -- UkrSibbank: BFSR to D- from D

  -- Ukrsotsbank: BFSR to D- from D

  -- VAB Bank: BFSR to E from E+, local currency deposit rating to
     Caa1 from B2, senior unsecured debt rating to Caa1 from B2
     and national scale rating (NSR) to Ba2.ua from A3.ua.

The rating actions do not affect these ratings of the
aforementioned issuers:

  -- OTP Bank Ukraine: Long-term local currency deposit rating of
     Ba1, foreign currency deposit rating of B3, short-term Not
     Prime deposit and debt ratings and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- Raiffeisen Bank Aval: Long-term local currency deposit rating
     of Ba1, foreign currency deposit rating of B3, local currency
     debt rating of Ba1, short-term Not Prime deposit and debt
     ratings, national scale debt rating of Aaa.ua and national
     scale deposit rating of Aa1.ua.

  -- UkrSibbank: Long-term local currency deposit rating of Ba1,
     foreign currency deposit rating of B3, foreign currency debt
     rating of B1, short-term Not Prime deposit and debt ratings
     and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- Ukrsotsbank: Long-term local currency deposit rating of Ba1,
     foreign currency deposit rating of B3, local currency debt
     rating of Ba1, foreign currency debt rating of B1, short-term
     Not Prime deposit and debt ratings and NSR of Aa1.ua.

  -- VAB Bank: Short-term Not Prime deposit rating.

The rating action concludes the review for possible downgrade
initiated by the rating agency on April 2, 2009.  The review was
driven by Moody's concerns about the potential impact of the
enduring economic downturn in Ukraine on these banks' asset
quality and financial performance, putting a further negative
pressure on the banks' capital levels.

When concluding the review, Moody's applied a number of scenarios
(base-case and stressed) to the banks' loan books to assess the
impact of currently reported as well as anticipated deterioration
of asset quality on the banks' capitalization and profitability.
The application of these scenarios has revealed that the asset
quality deterioration experienced by Ukrainian banks was mostly in
line with Moody's previous expectations for the base-case
scenario, although for some asset classes (in particular, foreign-
currency-denominated mortgages and car loans) the level of
delinquencies is approaching stressed scenario levels as detailed
in Moody's Special Comment "Estimating Bank Credit Losses for
Financial Institutions in the CIS" published in July 2009.  The
on-going de-leveraging pursued by these banks is also reducing the
banks' ability to generate earnings and absorb future credit
losses.

Moody's further notes that an additional factor contributing to
the rating agency's expectation of asset quality deterioration is
denomination of significant amounts of loans (varies from 54% to
91%, depending on a bank) and liabilities (varies from 65% to 92%,
depending on a bank) of these banks in foreign currencies, mainly
in US dollars, whereby the notable weakening of the Ukrainian
hryvnia has materially impacted the ability of these banks'
borrowers to repay their foreign currency loans, contributing to
further substantial increase in non-performing loans and loan loss
provisioning charges by the affected banks.

Based on these developments, Moody's anticipates that even after
taking into account already announced and accomplished capital
injections by these Ukrainian banks in 2009, the capital position
of these banks has been weakened and is unlikely to be restored to
the previous level in the short-to-medium term, thus weakening the
banks' stand-alone credit risk profiles and thus necessitating the
downgrades of these banks' BFSRs.

Moody's further commented that it has affirmed debt and deposit
ratings of OTP Bank Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval, UkrSibbank and
Ukrsotsbank, as these ratings continue to be underpinned by
parental support provided to these banks by their parent banks,
all being large EU banking groups.  Moody's believe that parental
support is likely to be forthcoming for these Ukrainian banks due
to the reputational risk considerations by the respective parent
banks and due to continued strategic fit of these bank's
operations into their parent bank strategies.

The last rating actions for OTP Bank Ukraine and VAB Bank was on
12 May 2009 when the long-term global foreign currency deposit
ratings of the these banks were downgraded to B3 from B2 with a
negative outlook following Moody's rating action on the sovereign
ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits for Ukraine.

The last rating actions for Ukrsotsbank was on May 12, 2009, when
the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, the long-term
foreign currency debt rating was downgraded to B1 (from Ba3) with
a negative outlook, and the local currency debt rating was
downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, following Moody's rating action on
the sovereign ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and
foreign and local bonds for Ukraine.

The last rating actions for UkrSibbank was on May 12, 2009, when
the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, and the long-
term foreign currency debt rating was downgraded to B1 (from Ba3)
with a negative outlook, following Moody's rating action on the
sovereign ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and bonds for
Ukraine.

The last rating actions for Raiffeisen Aval was on May 12, 2009,
when the long-term global foreign currency deposit rating was
downgraded to B3 from B2 with a negative outlook, the local
currency debt rating was downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3, and the
national scale rating was downgraded to Aa1.ua from Aaa.ua,
following Moody's rating action on the sovereign ceiling for
foreign currency bank deposits and foreign and local bonds for
Ukraine.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, OTP Bank Ukraine's assets, as
reported under IFRS, amounted to US$4.5 billion as of year-end
2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, Raiffeisenbank Aval reported IFRS
total assets of US$8.8 billion at the year-end of 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, UkrSibbank reported IFRS total
assets of US$7 billion at year-end 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, Ukrsotsbank reported IFRS total
assets of US$6.4 billion at year-end 2008.

Headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine, VAB Bank reported -- under local
accounting standards -- total assets of US$1 billion as at year-
end 2008.


===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================


AQUASCUTUM: Acquired by Harold Tillman
--------------------------------------
BBC News reports that entrepreneur Harold Tillman has acquired the
Aquascutum brand from Japan's Renown.

BBC relates Aquascutum, which was established in 1851 and opened
its first UK factory in 1909, has had an uncertain few months
after the Japanese owners failed to sell the firm.  BBC recalls
Chief executive, Kim Winser, quit in May after management buyout
talks collapsed.

According to BBC, Mr. Tillman has declined to guarantee the future
of the UK factory, but said workers should be "comforted" by his
previous track record.

"Initially we will get our heads around it and understand what the
factory does and we have no immediate plans to make any changes,"
BBC quoted Mr. Tillman as saying.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe, entire
workforce unit of Aquascutum was put on consultation in June when
a firm offer from YGM Trading, its Hong Kong-based suitor, failed
to materialize.  The company employs more than 340 staff,
including 120 based at its Corby factory, in the UK.

Aquascutum -- http://www.aquascutum.com/-- is a British luxury
clothing manufacturer and retailer.


INCISIVE MEDIA: Reaches Financial Restructuring Deal with Lenders
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Incisive Media plc has reached an agreement with its principal
lenders to resolve its financing issues.  Although both the UK and
US businesses continue to generate operating profits despite the
impact of the downturn in the global economy on the end markets
they serve, the existing debt structure is unsustainable and a
financial restructuring will therefore be undertaken.

Following extensive negotiations the Group has reached agreement
with its principal lenders to address the financing issues arising
from the debt finance for the acquisition of Incisive Media by
Apax Partners in December 2006 and the subsequent acquisition of
the American Lawyer Media business in August 2007.  These deals
were structured as separate transactions involving a syndicate of
lenders on the Incisive Media side and a bi-lateral deal with The
Royal Bank of Scotland plc on the ALM side.  Incisive Media's
principal lenders have agreed to enter into an agreement with the
group in which the principal lenders will become the majority
shareholders; and the restructuring of the ALM business has been
agreed.  These restructurings, given the packages remained
separate, will result in Incisive Media and ALM being separated
and operated on a standalone basis, each with their own financing,
board and management.

Completion of both transactions is subject to a number of
conditions including finalizing legal documentation and receipt of
competition clearance.  Following the completion of the
restructurings, both businesses will have stronger balance
sheets enabling them to approach the future with confidence.

Tim Weller, Group CEO Incisive Media "I am delighted that we have
reached an agreement with our lenders.  Although ALM will be
separated from Incisive Media, [Tuesday's] announcement has
underlined the banks' confidence in the future of our company and
their support of the existing management team, our people and our
brands.  The restructuring is extremely positive as it has
significantly strengthened our balance sheet and will give us
the ability to take advantage of the opportunities that lie
ahead."

On Sept. 4, 2009, the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe, citing The
Financial Times, Apax agreed to inject US$15 million (GBP9.2
million) of fresh equity into ALM as part of a debt-for-equity
swap deal with Royal Bank of Scotland, cutting its total debt from
US$450 million to US$300 million.

Incisive breached its banking covenants in December after falls in
advertising at its magazines and a drop in attendance at its
industry conferences.

Incisive Media plc -- http://www.incisivemedia.com/-- provides
business information related to a variety of markets: risk
management, legal services, insurance, mortgage, private equity,
and financial information technology services, among others.
Incisive Media publishes magazines, Web sites, Web-based
conference series, newsletters, and related databases.  It also
organizes conferences and exhibitions.  Publications include
"Investment Week", "Mortgage Solutions", and "Risk".  Apax
Partners and company management took Incisive Media private in
2006.


LEHMAN BROTHERS: PwC to Meet With LBIE Clients to Mull Options
--------------------------------------------------------------
According to Ainsley Thomson at The Wall Street Journal, Lehman
Brothers' European administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers will meet
with the former clients of Lehman to discuss possible measures
meant to speed the return of about $9 billion of their assets.

As reported by the TCR on Aug. 24, 2009, PwC said that the U.K.
High Court handed down its judgement in relation to its
application to establish whether the court had jurisdiction to
sanction the proposed scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the
Companies Act 2006.  The proposed scheme sought to significantly
reduce the period clients have to wait before they get their
assets back.  PwC has said it could take up to a decade to return
assets via bilateral agreements, instead of the proposed scheme.

In an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, PwC's Steven Pearson and
Tony Lomas said that aside from meeting with hedge-fund
representatives -- one of Lehman Brothers' biggest client groups
-- they will also appeal the High Court ruling.  "We will find a
way of expediting the return of assets, of that I am confident,"
Mr. Pearson said.

Bloomberg relates that if the Court of Appeal determines in favor
of the administrators' appeal, the former clients of Lehman
Brothers' European operations, who number around 1,000, will be
asked to vote on the scheme of arrangement.  At least 50% of the
total number of creditors representing no less than 75% of the $9
billion in assets need to approve for it to be sanctioned.

                      About Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. -- http://www.lehman.com/-- was the
fourth largest investment bank in the United States.  For more
than 150 years, Lehman Brothers has been a leader in the global
financial markets by serving the financial needs of corporations,
governmental units, institutional clients and individuals
worldwide.

Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy September 15, 2008
(Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 08-13555).  Lehman's bankruptcy petition
listed US$639 billion in assets and US$613 billion in debts,
effectively making the firm's bankruptcy filing the largest in
U.S. history.  Several other affiliates followed thereafter.

The Debtors' bankruptcy cases are handled by Judge James M. Peck.
Harvey R. Miller, Esq., Richard P. Krasnow, Esq., Lori R. Fife,
Esq., Shai Y. Waisman, Esq., and Jacqueline Marcus, Esq., at Weil,
Gotshal & Manges, LLP, in New York, represent Lehman.  Epiq
Bankruptcy Solutions serves as claims and noticing agent.

On September 19, 2008, the Honorable Gerard E. Lynch, Judge of the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, entered
an order commencing liquidation of Lehman Brothers, Inc., pursuant
to the provisions of the Securities Investor Protection Act (Case
No. 08-CIV-8119 (GEL)).  James W. Giddens has been appointed as
trustee for the SIPA liquidation of the business of LBI

The Bankruptcy Court has approved Barclays Bank Plc's purchase of
Lehman Brothers' North American investment banking and capital
markets operations and supporting infrastructure for
US$1.75 billion.  Nomura Holdings Inc., the largest brokerage
house in Japan, purchased LBHI's operations in Europe for US$2
plus the retention of most of employees.  Nomura also
bought Lehman's operations in the Asia Pacific for US$225 million.

               International Operations Collapse

Lehman Brothers International (Europe), the principal UK trading
company in the Lehman group, was placed into administration,
together with Lehman Brothers Ltd, LB Holdings PLC and LB UK RE
Holdings Ltd.  Tony Lomas, Steven Pearson, Dan Schwarzmann and
Mike Jervis, partners at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, have been
appointed as joint administrators to Lehman Brothers International
(Europe) on September 15, 2008.  The joint administrators have
been appointed to wind down the business.

Lehman Brothers Japan Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Japan Inc.
filed for bankruptcy in the Tokyo District Court on September 16.
Lehman Brothers Japan Inc. reported about JPY3.4 trillion
(US$33 billion) in liabilities in its petition.

Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., publishes Lehman Brothers
Bankruptcy News.  The newsletter tracks the Chapter 11 proceeding
undertaken by Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., and its various
affiliates.  (http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000)


NATIONAL EXPRESS: Board Allows CVC-Led Consortium to Examine Books
------------------------------------------------------------------
Lina Saigol and Martin Arnold at The Financial Times report that
the board of National Express Group plc agreed to allow a
consortium comprising its largest shareholder to examine its
books.

The FT says the company looks likely to be broken up between its
rival Stagecoach, Spain's Cosmen family, which owns 18.5% of the
transport group, and CVC Capital Group, the private equity firm.

According to the FT, the Cosmen-led consortium will be allowed
four weeks of due diligence, after which it will either proceed
with its offer or walk away.  Last week, the consortium raised its
indicative cash offer for National Express to 500p a share from
the 450p offer the board had rejected.

Alistair Osborne at The Daily Telegraph reports the company voted
to recommend the consortium's GBP765 million bid at a board
meeting on Wednesday.  The board's recommendation is subject to a
few final conditions, the Daily Telegraph notes.

                          Cross-Default

Kaveri Niththyananthan at Dow Jones Newswires reports that any
potential bidders for National Express won't be forced by the
government to relinquish the c2c or East Anglia rail franchises
under cross-default guidelines.

Dow Jones relates a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday
that all potential bidders for National Express have been told
they won't be subject to cross-default and that the U.K.
Government "won't hold them responsible for the mismanagement" of
previous owners.

Dow Jones recalls On July 1, the U.K. government said it would
take control of National Express' East Coast rail franchise and
threatened to strip its remaining rail franchises.  National
Express maintains it isn't subject to cross-default.

                          Going Concern

On Aug. 4, 2009, the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe, citing
Telegraph.co.uk, said National Express made a pre-tax loss of
GBP48.1 million in the first six months of 2009, down from a
profit of GBP52.4 million last year, after taking a GBP54.7
million hit from its forced exit from the East Coast mainline
franchise, which is being taken back into government hands.
According Telegraph.co.uk, the accounts declared that while the
directors are confident of renegotiating covenant obligations with
lenders, "covenant compliance remains dependent on actions which
are yet to be delivered".  In light of this the accounts warned
that "underlying implementation risks represent a material
uncertainty that may cast significant doubt upon the group's
ability to continue as a going concern".

National Express Group PLC -- http://www.nationalexpressgroup.com/
-- is the holding company of the National Express Group of
companies.  Its subsidiary companies provide mass passenger
transport services in the United Kingdom and overseas.  The
Company's segments comprise: UK Bus; UK Coach; UK Trains; North
American Bus; European Coach and Bus, and Central functions.  Its
subsidiaries include Tayside Public Transport Co. Limited, Durham
School Services LP, Stock Transportation Limited, Dabliu
Consulting SLU, Tury Express SA, General Tecnica Industrial SLU
and Continental Auto SLU.  In June 2009, the Company announced the
completion of the sale of Travel London, its London bus business,
to NedRailways Limited, a subsidiary of NS Dutch Railways.


PROMINENT CMBS: Moody's Cuts Rating on Class E Notes to 'Ba3'
-------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has taken rating actions on these
classes of Notes issued by Prominent CMBS Funding No.1 PLC
(amounts reflect initial outstandings):

  -- GBP30M Class B Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes
     Certificate, Confirmed at Aa1; previously on Apr 8, 2009 Aa1
     Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade

  -- GBP76M Class C Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes
     Certificate, Confirmed at A1; previously on Apr 8, 2009 A1
     Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade

  -- GBP54M Class D Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes
     Certificate, Downgraded to Baa3; previously on Apr 8, 2009
     Baa1 Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade

  -- GBP40M Class E Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes
     Certificate, Downgraded to Ba3; previously on Apr 8, 2009 Ba2
     Placed Under Review for Possible Downgrade

At the same time, Moody's has affirmed the Aaa rating of the Class
A1 and A2 Notes.

The rating action concludes the review for possible downgrade that
was initiated for the Class B, C, D, and E Notes on 8 April 2009.
The rating action takes Moody's updated central scenarios into
account, as described in Moody's Special Report "Moody's Updates
on Its Surveillance Approach for EMEA CMBS".

1) Transaction and Portfolio Overview

Prominent CMBS Funding No. 1 PLC closed in December 2005 and
represents the securitization of initially 33 loans totaling GBP
1,017.5 million originated by Bank of Scotland secured by first-
ranking legal mortgages over initially 168 commercial properties
located across the UK.  The properties were predominantly office
and retail properties (36% and 29%, respectively), followed by
mixed use properties and industrial properties (28% and 5%,
respectively).  29% of the properties were located in Scotland and
26% were located in London.

The structure of the transaction was initially set up to allow
Bank of Scotland as administrator and originator certain
flexibility, subject to certain criteria, in terms of (i) adding
loans out of a secondary mortgage pool, initially totaling GBP
461.4 million, (ii) changing loan terms and (iii) advancing
additional funds, which could lead to a change in the pool's
characteristics.  The respective criteria had always been met.
Following the depletion of the secondary mortgage portfolio
resulting in a static transaction, the uncertainty about future
pool composition has been reduced.  Driven by this decreased
uncertainty and increased credit enhancement levels, Moody's
upgraded the Class B, C, and D Notes by one notch each in August
2007.

As of the June 2009 Note payment date, 19 loans with a total
outstanding balance of GBP518.5 million secure a total Note
balance of GBP487.1 million.  Therefore the Notes benefit from
overcollateralization, which is stemming from redemption of the
Class E Notes from excess spread over time.

The 19 loans are not equally contributing to the portfolio: the
two largest loans represent 15% and 13% of the current portfolio
balance (with the five largest loans representing 54%), while the
smallest three loans represent less than 2%, respectively.  The
current loan Herfindahl index is 13.3 versus 23.1 as at closing.
The loans are currently secured by 168 properties which are now
predominantly retail use (37%) followed by mixed use properties
(26%), office properties (19%) and industrial properties (16%).
24% of the properties are located in the South East, 23% in
Scotland and 11% in London.

The transaction structure provides for a fully sequential
allocation of interest and principal on the Notes.  Subject to
specific tests (including a test on subordination levels) being
met, principal were to be allocated fully pro rata.  Those tests
are undertaken on a quarterly basis.

2) Rating Rationale

The rating action follows a detailed re-assessment of the loan and
property portfolio's credit risk.  Hereby, Moody's main focus was
on property value declines, term default risk, refinancing risk
and the anticipated work-out timing for potentially defaulting
loans.  In its review, Moody's concentrated on the five largest
loans in the portfolio contributing 54% of the total pool, but has
also analyzed the key characteristics of the remaining 14 smaller
loans in the pool.

As outlined in more detail below, the rating action is mainly
driven by the most recent performance of the UK commercial
property markets and Moody's opinion about future property value
performance.  Driven by, in almost all cases, a higher default
risk assessment at the loan maturity dates, Moody's now
anticipates that a substantial portion of the portfolio will
default over the course of the transaction term.  Coupled with the
negative impact of reduced property values, Moody's expects a
substantial amount of losses on the securitized portfolio.  Those
losses will, given the backloaded default risk profile and the
anticipated work-out strategy for defaulted loans, crystallize
towards the end of the respective loan terms.

The Notes benefit from significant cushions against those expected
losses on the collateral portfolio given the overcollateralization
mentioned above and also a reserve fund available for this
transaction in an amount of GBP10 million as of June 2009 Note
payment date (2.1% of the total Note balance).  Moody's has
further taken into consideration the flexibility the Issuer
benefits from with respect to altering the financial terms of the
loans including loan maturity dates.  Those adjustments are
subject to specific tests, which have been met at all Note payment
dates with respect to the loan extension flexibility.  Loan
extensions have been granted frequently in the past and provide
significant flexibility in the current distressed market
environment, especially in light of the remote legal final
maturity date of the Notes being December 2032.

Moody's has taken the turbo feature with respect to Class E
redemption mentioned above into account when determining the Ba3
rating of the Class E Notes and the overcollateralization
available to all classes of Notes.  Moody's expects further
significant redemptions on the Class E Notes from excess spread
within the upcoming quarters.

Given the fully sequential allocation of principal repayments and
prepayments to date and built-up overcollateralization via the
turbo amortization of the Class E Notes the available credit
enhancement has increased for all classes of notes since closing.
Nevertheless, the increased credit enhancement available does not
fully compensate for the increased loss potential of the loan pool
for Class D and E, which results in the downgrade action.

3) Moody's Portfolio Analysis

Property Values. Property values across the UK have declined
significantly and are expected to continue to decline at least
until 2010.  Moody's estimates that compared to the underwriter's
values at closing, the values of the properties securing this
transaction have declined by on aggregate 15% until mid 2009
Looking ahead, Moody's anticipates further declines until 2010,
resulting in a weighted average 19% value decline compared to the
U/W value at closing.  Moody's assesses the value declines with
respect to the properties securing this transaction to be less
severe than in other EMEA CMBS transactions secured by properties
in the UK given its 2005 vintage.

Based on this property value assessment, Moody's estimates that
the transaction's Q2 2009 weighted average securitized loan-to-
value ratio was 93% (including undrawn commitments) compared to
the reported U/W LTV of 67%.  Due to the further envisaged
declines, this WA LTV will increase in Moody's opinion to 98% in
2010 and will only gradually recover thereafter.  Based on Moody's
anticipated trough values, the LTVs for the securitized loans
range between 58% and 167%.

Moody's has taken the anticipated property value development,
including a gradual recovery from 2011 onwards, into account when
analyzing the default risk at loan maturity and the loss given
default for each securitized loan.

Refinancing Risk. The transaction's exposure to loans maturing in
the short-term (2009 and 2010) is substantial; inter alia the
second largest loan (12.8% of the current pool) matures in 2010
and the fifth largest loan (6.3% of the current pool) matures in
November 2009.  However, as mentioned above, the transaction
benefits from significant flexibility in terms of loan extensions,
which Moody's expects the Servicer to continue to use.

Moody's assesses the third largest loan (loan ID 1200405617) to be
the highest leveraged loan in the pool based on Moody's assumed
property value and has -- given the leverage expected to remain
high at its scheduled maturity in 2011 -- considered the default
risk of this loan at maturity to be significant and the highest
within the loan pool.

Term Default Risk

The occupational markets in the UK are currently characterized by
falling rents, increasing vacancy rates and higher than average
tenant default rates.  Based on the current lease profile, Moody's
has incorporated into its analysis an allowance for deterioration
in coverage ratios on most of the loans, in turn increasing the
term default risk assumption for the respective loans.

Overall Default Risk

Based on its revised term and maturity default risk assessment for
the securitized loans, Moody's anticipates that a substantial
portion of the portfolio will default over the course of the
transaction term.  The default risk of almost all loans is
predominantly driven by refinancing risk.  In Moody's view, the
third largest loan has currently the highest default risk, while
the largest loan has the lowest risk of defaulting.

Concentration Risk

The portfolio securitized in Prominent CMBS Funding No. 1 PLC
exhibits an average concentration in terms of property types (37%
retail) and property location (24% South East).  In Moody's view,
this provides some potential benefits from different markets
performing differently over time.

Work-Out Strategy

In scenarios where a loan defaults, Moody's current expectation is
that the servicer will most likely not pursue an immediate sale of
the property in the depressed market conditions.  Therefore,
Moody's has assumed that in most cases, upon default, a sale of
the mortgaged properties and ultimate work-out of the loan will
occur at a later point in time.

Increased Portfolio Loss Exposure

Taking into account the increased default risk of the loans, the
most recent performance of the UK commercial property markets,
Moody's opinion about future property value performance and the
most likely work-out strategies for defaulted loans, Moody's
anticipates a moderate amount of losses on the securitized
portfolio, which will, given the backloaded default risk profile
and the anticipated work-out strategy for defaulted loans,
crystallize towards the mid of the transaction term.


WHITE TOWER: Halabi Cos. Gets Wind-Up Orders Over Unpaid Tax
------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Bourke at Bloomberg News reports that Her Majesty’s Revenue
and Customs has served winding-up orders to companies linked to
London office properties controlled by Simon Halabi over demands
for GBP4.77 million (US$8 million) in unpaid tax.

Citing a statement from CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the debt’s
manager, the seven firms hold collateral for GBP1.15 billion of
mortgage bonds issued by White Tower 2006-3 Plc, which became the
largest commercial mortgage-backed transaction sold by a single
borrower to default in the U.K. this year after properties linked
to the bonds halved in value.

According to Bloomberg, the tax authorities are also demanding
interest and other costs.

"There exists a material risk that the borrowers will not meet
these demands," prior to court hearings on Oct. 21 and
Oct. 28, CBRE, as cited by Bloomberg, said in the statement.


XL LEISURE: CAA Sets Friday Deadline for Claim Refunds
------------------------------------------------------
BBC News reports that holidaymakers who lost money when the XL
Leisure Group plc collapsed a year ago have until today to claim
their refunds.

"The CAA will not accept claims arising from the failure of the XL
Leisure Group after September 11, 2009.  If you have still to
submit a claim, you should ensure you do so before this deadline,"
BBC quoted a Civil Aviation Authority spokeswoman as saying.

BBC recalls XL, once the UK's third largest package holiday group,
fell into administration in September 2008, leaving tens of
thousands of travelers stranded.  The CAA is paying refunds to
those who missed out on package holidays as a result.

According to BBC, some 65,102 claims had been made to the CAA by
the start of this month, of which 55,324 (85%) have been paid or
turned down because of ineligibility.  BBC says payments have
amounted to GBP37.5 million.

                       About XL Leisure Group

Before it was forced to shut down its primary operations, XL
Leisure Group plc -- http://www.xl.com/-- was a leading travel
services provider in Europe.  The company's XL Airways unit
offered chartered passenger transportation to about 50 destination
in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and North America.
Its fleet of about 40 jets resided at airports throughout the UK
and in France and Germany.  Other XL units, including Aspire
Holidays, Freedom Flights, and Kosmar, sold tour packages. In
September 2008, XL Leisure Group shut down its UK operations,
citing skyrocketing fuel costs and the inability to obtain further
funding.  Its French and German divisions, however, remain in
operation.


* Pre-Pack Restructurings Rise After Lehman, Says Allen & Overy
---------------------------------------------------------------
One year on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers the global
financial markets are taking a back-to-basics approach of cautious
deal making and risk analysis, according to a report published
September 10 by Allen and Overy.

The report, which surveys Allen & Overy partners in 20 countries
around the world on changes in market practices in their
jurisdictions, indicates:

    * a tightening of covenants in lending documentation;

    * significant firming up of legal risk management practices
      both in banks and by regulators;

    * increased emphasis on counterparty risk in capital markets
      structures, but with the preservation of sound market
      conventions; and

    * that in restructurings there has been an increase in the use
      of pre-packs and debt-for-equity conversions, as well as
      disputes over valuation models.

In essence, people are negotiating harder and prudently assessing
and managing their risks in a still uncertain market environment.

The report was compiled by Allen & Overy Special Global Counsel
Philip R. Wood QC (Hon) and shows that while regulators and
politicians continue to debate reform of the financial system, the
market has responded to recent events and is conducting business
with a far more cautious approach to transactions and deals –
albeit with a greatly reduced flow of deals in some areas.

Commenting, Philip Wood said, "Our report indicates that, in
addition to higher pricing and reduced leverage, there has been a
significant tightening up of the terms of legal documents. But
recent events have not resulted in a revolution in the coverage of
the documents for syndicated credits or bond issues or a
fundamental reappraisal of non-financial terms.

"Legal risk management by banks in relation to their dealings with
counterparties in the market and by their regulators has
intensified, as one would expect.  Aside from much nervousness in
credit analysis, the focus has been on the three major risk
mitigants: set-off (and its companion close-out netting), security
interests and trusts (usually in the form of custodianship of
securities).

"As to restructurings and reorganizations of companies in dire
straits, there are obviously more of them.  That means that many
more people are now facing all the complications, mess and time
that restructurings entail.  Our report reviews the market trends
in relation to prepackagings, debt-equity conversions and whether
the presence of credit default swaps complicates restructurings."

The firm's key findings of the analysis were broken down by
Lending, Risk Management, Capital Markets, and Restructuring.
With respect to Resctructuring, findings are:

    * Increase in debt-for-equity swaps: Our survey reveals,
      somewhat unsurprisingly, that there has been a sharp
      increase in most countries in debt-equity swaps.

    * CDS holders are not distorting restructurings: Our survey
      seems to indicate that this situation has been less common
      than perhaps is currently thought.  One reason may be that
      many restructurings have involved highly leveraged
      transactions which have not enjoyed CDS protection.  Another
      reason is that sometimes the reorganization has been pitched
      so that the CDS protection is technically triggered with the
      result that the CDS holder is happy.  A third reason appears
      to be that sometimes the CDS holder has got other
      unprotected exposures which it wishes to rescue by
      participating in the reorganisation.

    * Increased use of pre-packs: On the whole there has been an
      increase in the use of pre-packs in the countries which
      allow them.  The dominance of private deals out of court as
      a method of resolving financial problems seems to be
      confirmed.


* BOOK REVIEW: An Entrepreneurial History of the United States
--------------------------------------------------------------
Author: Gerald Gunderson
Publisher: Beard Books
Softcover: 286 pages
Price: US$34.95
Review by Henry Berry

The first American colonists were the earliest entrepreneurs in
this country.  Bearing a positive outlook and pursuing dreams of
success, they were the model for generations of entrepreneurs to
follow.  Yet, unlike their predecessors who found fortune in
Europe and other regions of the world, these "Founding
Entrepreneurs . . . . had to create a viable operation out of
local resources, which had yet to yield anywhere near a
competitive return," says Mr. Gunderson in An Entrepreneurial
History of the United States.

These first capitalists played a critical role in the development
of the United States into a global economic power and a country
that has, on the whole, created an exemplary standard of living
for its citizens.  As Mr. Gunderson notes, these early
entrepreneurs were successful in "redeploying resources . . .
creating exports that were competitive in international trade, and
devising organizations that encouraged participants to harness
their personal interests toward those of the colony."

An Entrepreneurial History of the United States, first published
in 1989, chronicles the story of the nation's economic beginning,
and makes the story compelling by including profiles of famed
business figures and companies.  The stories of such entrepreneurs
as Robert Fulton, John Jacob Astor, Andrew Carnegie, Thomas
Edison, and Henry Ford and such companies as AT&T, DuPont, and
Sears Roebuck are told.

However, the book is more instructive than that.  The author
breaks down entrepreneurship into phases tied to ever-changing
business conditions and social circumstances.  In some cases,
entrepreneurship helped to usher in new phases; in other cases, it
seized on opportunities for new products or services arising at a
particular time.  The interplay between entrepreneurs and colonial
society is thus a recurrent theme.

This book also looks at the personal attributes shared by
entrepreneurs, such as a special knowledge or ability in some
field, a drive to apply this knowledge or ability to a business
market in a novel way, and a combination of practicality and
vision in applying the new idea.  However, despite their
creativity and drive, the author points out that few entrepreneurs
were overnight successes.  Their accomplishments were earned after
a long, persistent period of trial and error.

The successful entrepreneur was not an especially ingenious
individual who took a big risk and saw it pay off.  "A major
misconception is that entrepreneurs assume particularly large
risks," says Mr. Gunderson.  Rather, "a development usually
unfolds as continuing, small problems, where mismanagement of an
individual opportunity often can be corrected and then recouped by
persistence."  Entrepreneurs are convinced they are on to
something even in the face of obstacles and mismanagement in the
early stages of their venture.  Mr. Gunderson notes that, "As an
entrepreneurial venture grows, its members learn about the niche
that the product serves.  Frequently the firm becomes recognized
as the best source of such expertise in the world."

Thus is the formula for success unveiled.  Anyone wishing to apply
history to their own entrepreneurial dreams should read this book.

Gerald Gunderson has held academic positions at Trinity College,
the University of Massachusetts, Mount Holyoke College, and North
Carolina State University.  He is currently editor of the Journal
of Private Enterprise.

                            *********

Monday's edition of the TCR delivers a list of indicative prices
for bond issues that reportedly trade well below par.  Prices are
obtained by TCR editors from a variety of outside sources during
the prior week we think are reliable.  Those sources may not,
however, be complete or accurate.  The Monday Bond Pricing table
is compiled on the Friday prior to publication.  Prices reported
are not intended to reflect actual trades.  Prices for actual
trades are probably different.  Our objective is to share
information, not make markets in publicly traded securities.
Nothing in the TCR constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or
sell any security of any kind.  It is likely that some entity
affiliated with a TCR editor holds some position in the issuers'
public debt and equity securities about which we report.

Each Tuesday edition of the TCR contains a list of companies with
insolvent balance sheets whose shares trade higher than US$3 per
share in public markets.  At first glance, this list may look like
the definitive compilation of stocks that are ideal to sell short.
Don't be fooled.  Assets, for example, reported at historical cost
net of depreciation may understate the true value of a firm's
assets.  A company may establish reserves on its balance sheet for
liabilities that may never materialize.  The prices at which
equity securities trade in public market are determined by more
than a balance sheet solvency test.

A list of Meetings, Conferences and Seminars appears in each
Thursday's edition of the TCR. Submissions about insolvency-
related conferences are encouraged.  Send announcements to
conferences@bankrupt.com

Each Friday's edition of the TCR includes a review about a book of
interest to troubled company professionals.  All titles are
available at your local bookstore or through Amazon.com.  Go to
http://www.bankrupt.com/booksto order any title today.

                            *********


S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter -- Europe is a daily newsletter co-
published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless
Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Frederick,
Maryland USA.  Valerie C. Udtuhan, Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine
C. Tumanda, Joy A. Agravante and Peter A. Chapman, Editors.

Copyright 2009.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic
re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior
written permission of the publishers.

Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
be reliable, but is not guaranteed.

The TCR Europe subscription rate is US$625 per half-year,
delivered via e-mail.  Additional e-mail subscriptions for members
of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or
balance thereof are US$25 each.  For subscription information,
contact Christopher Beard at 240/629-3300.


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