Moody's on Aug. 30 upgraded Unipol Banca SpA's long- and short-term deposit ratings to Baa3/P-3 from Ba1/NP, following the completion of the Italian lender's takeover by BPER Banca SpA.
Also upgraded were Unipol Banca's long- and short-term counterparty risk ratings to Baa3/P-3 from Ba1/NP and its long- and short-term counterparty risk assessments to Baa3(cr)/P-3(cr) from Ba1(cr)/NP(cr), while its senior unsecured debt rating was affirmed at Ba3.
Moody's changed the outlook on the long-term deposit ratings to positive from ratings under review, concluding the review for upgrade initiated Feb. 13, while the outlook on the senior unsecured debt remains positive. At the same time, the agency withdrew Unipol Banca's "b2" baseline credit assessment and "b1" adjusted baseline credit assessment.
Unipol Banca's ratings have been aligned with those of BPER as the two banks will be merged shortly, Moody's said, adding that it expects to withdraw Unipol Banca's ratings following its merger by incorporation into BPER, which will likely occur in the next few months.
Moody's said it decided to withdraw Unipol Banca's baseline and adjusted baseline credit assessments for its own business reasons, adding that the move reflects its view that the lender's standalone characteristics now have limited credit significance following its takeover by BPER.
