We believe the prospect of extraordinary government support for Italian banks is now uncertain in view of the country's well-advanced and effective resolution regime. We consider that Italian bank UniCredit is unlikely to increase its additional loss-absorbing capacity (ALAC) above our 5.0% threshold within a four-year projection period. Additionally, we anticipate that UniCredit's stand-alone creditworthiness could benefit from improving economic and operating conditions for Italian banks. We are affirming our 'BBB-/A-3' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on UniCredit. The stable outlook reflects our stable outlook on our long-term sovereign rating on Italy. As previously announced on Dec. 2, 2015, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services has affirmed its 'BBB-/A-3' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Italy-based bank UniCredit SpA.
