On April 24, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised the outlook to negative from stable on the banks of Italy's Iccrea banking group: Iccrea Holding SpA, Iccrea Banca SpA, and Banca Agrileasing SpA, reflecting the vulnerability of the Banche di Credito Cooperativo (BCCs) network to the weak domestic economy. At the same time, the 'A/A-1' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings were affirmed. The BCCs' asset quality is exposed to domestic economic weakness through the composition of their loan portfolio, mainly to small enterprises and artisans. Sustained loan growth in the past few years, coupled with high loan portfolio concentration in the real estate sector for some BCCs, makes their credit risk vulnerable to the domestic economic environment. As
