The ratings on Italian bank Iccrea Banca are based on Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' assessment of the creditworthiness of Italy's large network of small cooperative banks (Banche di Credito Cooperativo; BCCs) and Iccrea Banca's core status in the BCC network, as its central bank. The ratings on BCCs are supported by the network's good market position in Italy, its sound support mechanism, and the overall adequate financial profile, in our opinion. We continue to see the BCC network's sound liquidity and adequate capital as key strengths for the ratings, offsetting generally weak asset quality and earnings. Iccrea Banca is the Iccrea banking group's liquidity manager and is set to finance Banca Agrileasing SpA (the BCC network's small and midsize
