CaixaBank announced today the legal completion of the acquisition of Banca Civica, which will be fully consolidated by the bank in its financial statements starting from July 1, 2012. In our view, the integration of the acquired entity weakens CaixaBank's financial profile at a time when the economic and operating conditions in Spain remain poor. We are therefore lowering our long-term ratings on CaixaBank to 'BBB' from 'BBB+' and affirming our 'A-2' short-term ratings, and lowering our long- and short-term ratings on its parent company la Caixa to 'BB+/B' from 'BBB-/A-3'. We are raising our long- and short-term ratings on Banca Civica to 'BBB/A-2' from 'BB/B' and then withdrawing them as the bank is now fully integrated with CaixaBank. The
