Dominant franchises in key provinces of wealthy northern Italy Good track record in merger integration Sound bottom-line profitability Only adequate liquidity profile Comparatively high exposure to corporate credit risk Relatively high single-name loan concentration The ratings on Unione di Banche Italiane Scpa (UBI) reflect the bank's strong northern Italian franchise and sound financial profile, which is based on a satisfactory operating performance and moderate cost of credit risk. Constraining the ratings are potential risks from a large credit exposure to Italian corporates and significant single-name loan concentration. Resulting from the merger of Banche Popolari Unite (BPU) and Banca Lombarda (BL) in April 2007, UBI is a leading Italian mutual banking group ("banca popolare") with a 5.7% national market share and
