We have assigned our 'A' long-term and 'A-1' short-term issuer credit ratings to Spain-based investment holding company Criteria CaixaCorp S.A. (Criteria). The ratings include one notch of ownership support from Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Criteria will continue to demonstrate high levels of financial flexibility and a strong capital structure. STOCKHOLM (Standard&Poor's) July 27, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it had assigned its 'A' long-term and 'A-1' short-term issuer credit ratings to Spain-based investment holding company Criteria CaixaCorp S.A. (Criteria). The outlook is stable. "The ratings reflect Criteria's conservative capital structure, good financial flexibility, and above-average portfolio quality characteristics," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Andreas
