...+ We anticipate that UBI Banca's strong franchise and conservative strategy will continue to sustain the bank's creditworthiness. + We are therefore affirming our ratings on UBI Banca at '###-/A-3'. + The outlook is stable. MILAN (S&P Global Ratings) April 16, 2018--S&P Global Ratings today affirmed its long- and short-term issuer credit ratings on UBI Banca SpA (UBI) at '###-/A-3'. The outlook is stable. The affirmation reflects our view that the bank will continue to benefit from its strong franchise while its focused management will smoothly integrate the three banks recently acquired. We note that management might be willing to continue participating in further consolidation in the Italian banking system. However, we do not anticipate it will enter any acquisition that would weaken its financial profile, given the bank's track record of conservative strategy. The affirmation further reflects our projection that UBI's ratio of nonperforming exposures (NPE) to total loans will continue...
