Iccrea Banca's central institutional role for the Banche di Credito Cooperativo (BCC), an Italian cooperative bank network; BCC banks' (BCCs) strong local franchises; and BCCs' sound aggregated financial profile based on good capitalization and good revenue generation. Some deterioration in BCCs' credit risk profile, driven by strong loan growth in the context of a weak domestic economy; BCCs' rising cost base, reflecting lack of economies of scale; and Iccrea Banca's credit concentration and risk--albeit declining--from pool financing The ratings on Italy-based Iccrea Banca SpA primarily reflect the bank's status as the central bank of Banche di Credito Cooperativo (BCC), a large and cohesive network of small Italian cooperative banks with a solid and stable aggregated financial profile. The ratings also
