S&P Lowers Ratings on 15 Italian Banks

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Standard & Poor's on Friday cut the ratings on 15 Italian banks, but left ratings unchanged for market leaders UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo and Mediobanca.

The agency said the ratings cuts -- which included Unione di Banche Italiane, better known as UBI -- reflected "increased credit risk for the Italian economy and its banks."

"With Italy facing a potentially deeper and more prolonged recession than we had originally anticipated, we think Italian banks' vulnerability to credit risk in the economy is rising," S&P said.

The downgraded banks also included Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna and Banca Popolare di Vicenza.

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