DBRS Places Italy A (low) Under Review with Negative Implications on Heightened Risks

DBRS Ratings Limited has today reviewed the Republic of Italy outside of the regular pre-announced calendar for European sovereigns. This review placed the Republic of Italy’s A (low) long-term foreign and local currency issuer ratings Under Review with Negative Implications, and confirmed the short-term foreign and local currency issuer ratings at R-1 (low) with a Stable trend.

The decision to review these ratings outside of the regular pre-announced calendar reflects DBRS’s assessment that the combination of political uncertainty surrounding a forthcoming constitutional referendum and pressure on Italian banks, amid a fragile recovery and a less stable external environment, pose downside risks to the ratings. Over the coming months, DBRS will assess these risks and to what extent they may adversely affect Italy’s efforts to stabilise its public debt.

DBRS will publish a separate press release providing more detail on this rating action.

The applicable methodology is Rating Sovereign Governments, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.

A copy of the press releases are available by clicking on the link under Related Research or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrs.com or contact us at info@dbrs.com.