Moody's said July 21 that it is going to ofPittsburgh-based F.N.B.Corp. and unit FirstNational Bank of Pennsylvania for potential upgrade, after newsthat the company is buying Yadkin Financial Corp.

But the rating agency noted that the challenges related tothe deal have reduced the chances that it will actually end up upgradingF.N.B.'s ratings in this review. Moody's mentioned the deal's size andgeographic expansion, as well as the increased risk of a possible mistake indue diligence as Yadkin has itself been acquisitive and is a combination ofvarious banks, as challenges.

Among the ratings in question are F.N.B.'s Baa3 issuerrating and Baa3 subordinated debt rating; as well as First National Bank ofPennsylvania's baa2 stand-alone baseline credit assessment, A3 long-term andPrime-2 short-term deposit ratings, and Baa1(cr) counterparty risk assessment(CR assessment). The bank's Prime-2(cr) short-term CR assessment is not onreview for upgrade.

The rating agency started this review May 31 in light of thecompany having improved its corporate governance and showing an ability tointegrate post-deals.