Various Rating Actions Taken On 15 Italian Banks On Sovereign Upgrade And More Resilient Industry Dynamics

On April 11, 2025, S&P Global Rating raised its sovereign rating on Italy to 'BBB+' from 'BBB' thanks to a strengthening external position, strong household and corporate balance sheets, and still high but reducing fiscal imbalances. This eases potential sources of economic imbalances Italian domestic financial institutions face. We also perceive a structural improvement in Italian banks' profitability, with average return on equity remaining above the cost of capital for most banks. This is on the back of greater operating efficiencies, more resilient business models, and improved asset quality. We have, therefore, improved our systemic risk assessment for Italian banks and revised up our BICRA anchor to 'bbb' from 'bbb-'. Because of the sovereign action and the improved BICRA assessments,

...April 18, 2025 - On April 11, 2025, S&P Global Rating raised its sovereign rating on Italy to '###+' from '###' thanks to a strengthening external position, strong household and corporate balance sheets, and still high but reducing fiscal imbalances. - This eases potential sources of economic imbalances Italian domestic financial institutions face. - We also perceive a structural improvement in Italian banks' profitability, with average return on equity remaining above the cost of capital for most banks. This is on the back of greater operating efficiencies, more resilient business models, and improved asset quality. - We have, therefore, improved our systemic risk assessment for Italian banks and revised up our BICRA anchor to '###' from '###-'. - Because of the sovereign action and the improved BICRA assessments, we have taken various rating actions on the 15 Italian banks listed below. MILAN (S&P Global Ratings) April 18, 2025--S&P Global Ratings said today that it has taken the following...

Ratings Action