...Rating Floor at 'BBB-': Fitch Ratings has applied a rating floor to the governments of all Spanish autonomous communities since March 2013. This is in line with Fitch's International Local and Regional Governments Rating Criteria, released in May 2015, and reflects the fact that Fitch may introduce a rating floor in exceptional circumstances. Each rating floor is constantly reviewed, and Fitch may remove it if the factors that led to its introduction diminish. Under a rating floor, the published Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of a Local and Regional Government (LRG) may be higher than its Intrinsic Credit Profile (ICP). No Correlation with Sovereign: The rating floor for Spanish autonomous communities is grounded in extraordinary state support, which ensures an investment-grade credit quality for these issuers. Spain's IDR was upgraded in April 2014 (to 'BBB+'/Stable/'F2', from `BBB') but the floor remained unchanged, although a strengthening of the sovereign¦s creditworthiness is primarily...
