DBRS on Sept. 30 lowered Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA's senior long-termdebt and deposit rating to B (high) from BB.

At the same time, the agency changed the bank's intrinsicassessment to B (high).

The lender's short-term debt and deposit rating remains atR-4 and its long- and short-term critical obligations ratings remain at BBB(low)/R-2 (middle). However, all ratings are still under review with negativeimplications.

The downgrade reflects the agency's view of increased risksfor the bank's bondholders due to the higher execution for the bank's €5 billion rights issue.