PARIS (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) May 16, 2000--Following the acquisition by the Italian banking group Unicredito Italiano SpA (Unicredito) of the U.S.-based asset manager Pioneer Group Inc. (Pioneer) for US$1.2 billion, Standard&Poor's today affirmed all of its single-'A'-plus long-term and 'A-1' short-term ratings on Unicredito and related entities. The outlook on Unicredito remains stable. A complete list of ratings is available on RatingsDirect, Standard&Poor's on-line credit research service, or by calling the Standard&Poor's ratings desk at (33) 1-4420-6705. The ratings affirmation reflects the low-risk profile of the asset-management business in general, as well as Unicredito's superior earnings capacity, which should alleviate pressure on the group's capital ratios. Unicredito, one of the largest banking groups
