I This document constitutes the base prospectus of ... - Volksbank AG

Factors influencing the credit spread include, among other things, the creditworthiness of the Issuer, probability
of default, recovery rate, remaining term to maturity of the Security and obligations under any collateralisation
or guarantee and declarations as to any preferred payment or subordination. The liquidity
situation, the general level of interest rates, overall economic developments, and the currency, in which the
relevant obligation is denominated, may also have a positive or negative effect. In particular, fluctuations in
the creditworthiness and rating of an Obligor of the Main Compartment Asset, and/or the Derivative Counterparty,
could influence the credit spread of a Security.
Investors are exposed to the risk that the credit spread of a Security widens resulting in a decrease in the
price of the Securities.
Risks in relation to ratings
A rating is the opinion of a rating agency on the credit standing of an issuer, i.e., (depending on the methodology
or the rating provider) a forecast or an indicator of a possible credit loss due to insolvency, delay
in payment or incomplete payment to investors. A credit rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold
Securities and may be revised or withdrawn by the rating agency at any time.
Securities may (but will not necessarily) be rated. Any rating of Securities may not adequately reflect all
risks of the investment in such Securities. Equally, ratings may be suspended, downgraded or withdrawn.
Such suspension, downgrading or withdrawal may have an adverse effect on the market value and trading
price of the Securities.
Main Compartment Assets may (but will not necessarily) be rated. Any suspension, downgrade or withdrawal
of a rating of a Main Compartment Asset and/or the Derivative Counterparty would adversely affect
the value of the respective Securities and may result in losses of the Security Holders.
Risk of early Termination
The Final Terms of a particular Series of Securities may provide for a right of termination by the Issuer.
Such right of termination is often provided for Securities issued during periods of high interest rates. If the
market interest rates decrease, the risk to investors that the Issuer will exercise its right of termination increases.
An expected yield by the investor may not materialise and investors that have received monies
through an early redemption and choose to reinvest such monies may be able to do so only in securities
with a lower yield than the redeemed Securities.
Reinvestment risk
Investors may be exposed to risks connected to the reinvestment of cash resources freed from any Security.
The return the investor will receive from a Security depends not only on the price and the nominal interest
rate of the Security but also on whether or not the interest received during the term of the Security can be
reinvested at the same or a higher interest rate than the rate provided for in the Security. The risk that the
general market interest rate falls below the interest rate of the Security during its term is generally called
reinvestment risk. The extent of the reinvestment risk depends on the individual features of the relevant
Security.
Cash flow risk
In general, structured Securities provide a certain cash flow. The Final Terms set forth under which conditions,
on which dates and in which amounts interest and/or redemption amounts are/is paid. In the event
that the agreed conditions do not occur, the actual cash flows may differ from those expected. Prospective
investors should consider the risk that where lower cash flow occurs, this may result in the Issuer being
unable to redeem the Securities, in whole or in part.
Currency risk Exchange rate risk
The currency risk is the risk of a negative difference between the actual and the expected yield from a Security
denominated in a foreign currency. The currency risk consists of the interest rate risk (see Interest
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