On July 6, 2007, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A+' long-term and 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit ratings on Italian bank UniCredito Italiano SpA and its subsidiary Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG (BA). The outlook on both entities is stable. The affirmations follow the announcement that BA, which is responsible within the UniCredito group for commercial banking activities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a majority shareholding in Ukrsotsbank OJSC (USB; B/Watch Pos/B), one of the largest banks in Ukraine. The deal is subject to regulatory authorizations. (For more information on Ukrsotsbank, see the related research update entitled "Ukrsotsbank 'B' L-T Rating Placed On Watch Positive On Share Purchase; 'B' S-T Rating
