...Six Outlooks Revised to Negative: The change in the sovereign Outlook to Negative had an immediate effect on the Outlooks of five Italian banks, w hose Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) are rated at the same level as, or higher than, Italy's Long-Term IDR of `BBB'. Fitch Ratings also revised the Outlook of one rated subsidiary follow ing the Outlook revision of its insurance company parent. Further Rating Pressure Possible: Ratings of other Italian banks could come under pressure if they face increasing challenges in the execution of their strategies, particularly w ith respect to reducing non-performing loans (NPLs) and accessing funding at reasonable cost. Sovereign Exposures: Italian banks' appetite to hold debt issued by their ow n sovereign remains high, on average, although several banks have actively reduced their Italian sovereign debt exposure since the eurozone crisis. Risk of Reduced NPL-Investor Appetite: NPL reduction strategies could be at risk if investors lose appetite...
