Fitch lowers ratings outlook for 5 Italian banks - Bloomberg

Following Fitch ratings agency’s decision last week to revise Italy’s outlook to ‘negative’, the agency lowered ratings outlook for five Italian banks, Bloomberg reports.

Key Details (via Bloomberg):

UniCredit, Intesa, Mediobanca SpA, Credito Emiliano and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA’s outlook ratings were cut to negative from stable.

 Fitch confirmed the banks’ long- and short-term ratings.

The decision reflects Fitch’s view that the banks would likely be downgraded if Italy’s rating was cut. 

“Intesa, Mediobanca and Credem focus mainly on Italy, so their ratings "are highly affected by the risk profile of the Italian sovereign and the domestic economy," Fitch noted.

UniCredit’s outlook was revised despite its geographical diversification because the parent bank’s risk profile remains highly correlated with that of Italy.