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. On July 27, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services 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. They are one-notch above our assessment of the company's stand-alone credit profile to reflect
