On April 18, 2016, Spanish Caixabank announced its decision to launch a voluntary tender offer for Portuguese Banco BPI S.A. (BPI), in what would be its second attempt to take control of the bank. Caixabank has stated that it is committed to restoring its fully loaded common equity Tier I ratio to above 11% upon completion of the transaction. As a result of the above, we are affirming the 'BBB/A-2' ratings on Caixabank and revising the CreditWatch status of the 'BB-' long-term ratings on BPI to developing from negative. The stable outlook on Caixabank reflects our view that, if the transaction goes through, the bank will take the necessary steps to largely offset the capital impact of the acquisition and
