PARIS (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) May 15, 2001--Standard&Poor's today affirmed all its ratings on Italian bank UniCredito Italiano SpA (Unicredito) and related entities–-including its single-'A'-plus long-term and 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit ratings on UniCredito-–following news of its joint friendly €0.5 billion offer (with Allianz AG) to acquire Croatian private bank Zagrebacka Banka DD (ZB). The outlook on UniCredito remains positive. At the same time, Standard&Poor's placed its double-'B'-plus long-term counterparty credit rating on ZB on CreditWatch with positive implications. UniCredito and German insurer Allianz AG (AAA/Watch Neg/A-1+) have launched a joint offer for 55% of the voting-share capital of ZB, which, if successful, would bring their combined stake to more than 75%, with 60% owned by
