DBRS Morningstar Assigns “BBB” rating, with a Negative Trend, to ISP’s Senior Non-Preferred Debt

DBRS Ratings GmbH (DBRS Morningstar) has assigned a rating of “BBB”, with a Negative trend, to Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP or the Bank)’s Senior Non-Preferred Debt. DBRS Morningstar expects that any future issuance by ISP of Senior Non-Preferred Debt, under the Bank’s EUR 70 billion Euro Medium Term Note Programme would be rated at this level. The “BBB” rating is one notch below ISP’s BBB (high) Long-Term Issuer rating and Long-Term Senior Debt rating, in line with the Framework set out in DBRS Morningstar’s “Global Methodology for Rating Banks and Banking Organisations”, dated 8 June 2020.

RATING DRIVERS

Any positive change in the Bank’s Intrinsic Assessment (IA) would have positive implications for the Senior Non-Preferred Debt rating. Given the Negative trend, an upgrade of Intesa’s IA is unlikely at this time. However, the trend on the Long-Term ratings would change to Stable if the Trend on the Italian Sovereign was to return to Stable, and the impact of the current economic environment on the Bank’s earnings and asset quality is manageable.

Similarly, any negative change in the Bank’s IA would have negative implications for the rating. A downgrade of Intesa’s IA could result from a downgrade of Italy’s Sovereign rating or a material deterioration in the Bank’s risk profile and capital position due to COVID-19.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework can be found in the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262.

Notes:
All figures are in EUR unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is the Global Methodology for Rating Banks and Banking Organisations (8 June 2020) https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/362170/global-methodology-for-rating-banks-and-banking-organisations.
Other applicable methodologies include DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings (3 February 2021) https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262/dbrs-morningstar-criteria-approach-to-environmental-social-and-governance-risk-factors-in-credit-ratings.

For more information regarding rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357883.

The sources of information used for this rating include ISP’s EUR 70 billion EMTN Programme dated 22 December 2020, Intesa Sanpaolo FY 2020 Results Press Release, Intesa Sanpaolo FY 2020 Results Presentation, and S&P Global Market Intelligence. DBRS Morningstar considers the information available to it for the purposes of providing this rating to be of satisfactory quality.

This rating concerns a newly issued financial instrument. This is the first DBRS Morningstar rating on this financial instrument.

DBRS Morningstar does not audit the information it receives in connection with the rating process, and it does not and cannot independently verify that information in every instance.

Generally, the conditions that lead to the assignment of a Negative or Positive trend are resolved within a 12-month period. DBRS Morningstar's outlooks and ratings are under regular surveillance.

For further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see: http://cerep.esma.europa.eu/cerep-web/statistics/defaults.xhtml. DBRS Morningstar understands further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates may be published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on its webpage: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/credit-rating-agencies.

The sensitivity analysis of the relevant key rating assumptions can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373738.

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the United Kingdom.

Lead Analyst: Nicola De Caro, Senior Vice President – Global FIG
Rating Committee Chair: Elisabeth Rudman - Managing Director, Head of European FIG - Global FIG
Initial Rating Date: September 13, 2013
Last Rating Date: August 7, 2020

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