Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA

Transcription

1 December 7, 2010 Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA Primary Credit Analyst: Eileen X Zhang, CFA, London (44) ; eileen_zhang@standardandpoors.com Secondary Contact: Frank Gill, London (44) ; frank_gill@standardandpoors.com Table Of Contents Major Rating Factors Rationale Outlook Profile: Aim Is To Encourage Public Investment In Italy Ownership And Legal Status: State Is Majority Shareholder Of Public Limited Company Strategy: Mainly Lending To Public Entities Sovereign Support And Supervision: Vast Majority Of Borrowing Guaranteed By State Asset Quality: Strong, And Expected To Remain So Profitability: Remains Modest, But Stable Liquidity: Postal Savings Instruments Fuel Very Strong Liquidity Capital: Strong Base Compared With Peers Funding Strategy: Postal Savings Provide Main Source Of Funding 1

2 Major Rating Factors Strengths: Solid explicit and implicit support from the Republic of Italy. Strong asset quality in the core business of lending to local administrations. Ample liquidity through demand deposits at the Italian Treasury. Counterparty Credit Rating A+/Stable/A-1+ Weaknesses: The very high general government debt and interest burdens of the supporting sovereign. Only moderate diversity of loans, virtually all of which are granted to Italian local administrations. Expansion of unguaranteed lending to fund projects by infrastructure concessionaires. Rationale The ratings on Italy-based lending institution Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA (CDP) are based on an equalization with the long-term rating on the Republic of Italy (A+/Stable/A-1+), reflecting Standard & Poor's Ratings Services opinion that there is an "almost certain" likelihood that the Italian government would provide timely and sufficient extraordinary support in an event of financial stress (see "Enhanced Methodology And Assumptions For Rating Government-Related Entities", published June 29, 2009, on RatingsDirect). In accordance with our criteria for government-related entities, our rating approach is based on our view of CDP's: "Critical" role through its public policy mandate. CDP is the main finance provider for national and local infrastructure projects undertaken by regional governments, local authorities, and public-law entities. CDP's exposure to state risk on the asset side is substantial, accounting for about one-half of its loan portfolio. "Integral" link with the Italian government. The government is legally required to be the majority state owner, and provides an explicit guarantee on the vast majority of CDP's obligations. The Italian state also exercises operational and management control and tight supervision over the CDP. CDP's end-june 2010 balance sheet of 235 billion shows a high degree of liquidity, with 122 billion held in Italian Treasury accounts. By law, CDP must remain majority owned by the state, which holds 70% of its shares, with the remainder held by 66 different banking foundations, which in turn are regulated by the central government. In its "segregated activity" (SA), CDP provides loans to the state, local and regional governments, and public-law entities for the financing of capital investments. This is CDP's traditional, publicly mandated lending activity, accounting for 95.9% of the loan book as of end-june Unlike a bank, CDP does not grant segregated-account loans based on specific risk analysis, but only on financial eligibility, as defined by requirements enshrined in specific laws and regulations. CDP refinances SA loans through sovereign-guaranteed postal savings instruments, capturing the savings of the general public, as well as through covered bonds. The vast majority of CDP's liabilities are made up of these postal savings instruments. Since 2009, a number of regulatory changes have widened the scope of projects eligible for funding through CDP's SA to include, among other things, operations undertaken in conjunction with and co-financed by EU member states Standard & Poor s RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal December 7,

3 and institutions, projects carried out via public-private partnership (PPP), financing of small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) through commercial banks, and the provision of additional support for exporters. In 2010, CDP amended its articles of association to allow its participation in investment funds whose purposes coincide with those of CDP. In our view, this extension of eligible projects funded through the SA indicates the government's desire to make increased use of the extensive liquidity available to CDP, and at the same time keep the borrowing off its own balance sheet. Projects under the new remit can now be undertaken on the basis of long-term economic value as well as more usual financial eligibility criteria, which could increase the risk undertaken on the loan portfolio from extremely low levels. Through its infrastructure or "ordinary activity" (OA), which began in 2005, CDP provides funding to private- or public-infrastructure concessionaires. OA loans are financed through borrowings without explicit sovereign guarantees and account for 4.1% of the loan book. In principle, if OA cash flow were to become insufficient, OA obligations might not be served on a timely basis by the government. In such a stress scenario, OA debt holders would have access to any and all of the assets held by CDP, other than those backing CDP's covered bonds. Furthermore, SA assets can be lent internally to OA to ensure payments on OA obligations. This internal transaction should not increase the default probability of SA obligations because these are guaranteed by the sovereign. In practice, it can be assumed that even the nonguaranteed part of CDP's obligations would be serviced pari passu with the SA obligations, and therefore with the sovereign's own obligations. Outlook The stable outlook on CDP reflects that on the Republic of Italy. We expect OA loans to increase gradually, but to stay well within 10% of total loans and at less than 50% of CDP's liquidity in the near future. However, if these limits were breached, and CDP's non-guaranteed OA liabilities were to substantially increase, the ratings might come under pressure. Furthermore, Standard & Poor's expects CDP to maintain ample liquidity, which should comfortably absorb any perceivable operational and valuation losses from CDP's equity stakes. We assume that CDP will not branch out into other lending operations not currently prescribed by law. A significant reduction of sovereign support could weaken the ratings on CDP. Profile: Aim Is To Encourage Public Investment In Italy CDP's mission is to foster the development of public investment, local utility infrastructure works, and major public works of national interest, ensuring an adequate return for its shareholders while preserving its long-term financial and economic balance. The extension of CDP's remit now makes it possible for CDP to finance infrastructure projects with long-term economic value as well as under usual financial eligibility criteria. CDP was established in 1850 in Turin, Italy, as a public body charged with financing the investments and local needs of the House of Savoy. In 1863, its responsibilities were extended to cover the rest of Italy. In 1875, the funds raised by CDP through administrative and judicial deposits and through the excess cash holdings of provincial treasuries were supplemented by funds from the postal savings banks (postal passbook savings accounts and, from 1925, postal savings bonds). 3

4 Ownership And Legal Status: State Is Majority Shareholder Of Public Limited Company In 2003, CDP was transformed into a publicly limited company (SpA) through Law Decree 269/03. The state holds 70% of CDP's share capital through the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). The law requires the state to remain the majority shareholder to ensure that the Italian government maintains its ability to direct and supervise CDP and its public-policy role. The remaining 30% of the capital is held by 66 different banking foundations, with the single largest shareholding amounting to 2.6%. Banking foundations are not-for-profit institutions created in the process of bank privatization in Italy with a policy mandate to promote local and regional development. Government regulation prescribes the foundations' investment guidelines and special tax status. Foundations have no shareholders, but regional and local authorities typically nominate their board of directors. In a recent change to CDP's articles of association, banking foundations will remain as preferred shareholders of CDP only until 2012 and their entitlement to a minimum 3% real annual dividend has been scrapped. A mandatory automatic conversion of preference shares into ordinary shares on Jan. 1, 2010, unless a foundation exercised its right to withdraw from the company, has now been postponed for three years. By law, minority shareholders may only be banking foundations, banks, and other supervised financial intermediaries, none of which are permitted to own more than 5% of CDP's shares. Strategy: Mainly Lending To Public Entities CDP's change of status to a SpA did not substantially alter its business model. CDP continues to engage in the same principal businesses as in the past when it was classified as a public administration. Broadly, the businesses CDP carries out as a SpA can be divided into two separate categories. Separate accounting systems have been implemented for each of the two business lines. SA: This is the most significant part of CDP's lending (95.9%) and involves the granting of medium- and long-term loans to the Italian state, local authorities, and other public-law entities for their investment needs as public institutional units. In 2010, the scope of SA was expanded to include projects with long-term economic value co-financed by EU member states and institutions, projects carried out via PPP, the provision of additional credit support for Italian exporters, and the financing of SMEs. SA lending will remain funded by postal savings, which are unconditionally guaranteed by the Italian state and distributed through the branch network of state-owned postal company Poste Italiane Group (A/Stable/A-1), as well as by covered bonds. For other fund-raising transactions, the law provides the possibility of a state guarantee. SA loans will continue to be made available by CDP on a nondiscriminatory basis and according to predetermined guidelines at interest rates and on maturity terms specified by the MEF. CDP is the undisputed market leader in lending to Italian public entities, although competition does exist, such as from Italian bank Dexia Crediop SpA (A-/Developing/A-2) or Banca Infrastrutture Innovazione e Sviluppo SpA (BIIS) (A+/Stable/A-1). Given EU competition regulations, we expect no European state aid problem. In addition to the government support provided by the guarantee on the SA obligations, the law requires that SA operations be managed so as to break even. OA: This involves the funding of public infrastructure owned and managed by private-law companies. This new line of business, which became effective in 2005, responds to changing trends in the provision of public infrastructure services and accounts for 4.1% of the loan book. OA lending is funded by bond issues in the Standard & Poor s RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal December 7,

5 capital market, with no state guarantee. Such bonds may be full recourse to CDP or limited recourse to a pool of segregated assets. CDP may not raise funds through acceptance of deposits. The law allows CDP to obtain security over certain cash flows related to concessions for the construction and operation of the infrastructure it funds, and to aggregate assets so that they are legally segregated from its other assets and can be refinanced in the market as a pool together with any ancillary transactions. OA loans are made available by CDP based on the specific creditworthiness of the borrower and according to terms specifically agreed to between CDP and the borrower. OA lending is designed to support the Italian government's local infrastructure development policy. By law, CDP cannot carry out any activities other than those expressly circumscribed, although following the 2009 regulatory changes CDP now has a fairly broad remit. Nevertheless, separate accounting for the two categories of activity must be maintained. From a legal perspective, however, CDP is a single juridical entity, whose unencumbered assets will, in principle, be available to all its general and unsubordinated creditors (both as a going concern and in the event of CDP's insolvency). On Jan. 1, 2006, Infrastrutture SpA (ISpA) was merged into CDP, which assumed control of all ISpA's property, rights, assets, and liabilities. Before the merger, ISpA was a subsidiary of CDP. It was founded by the Italian government in 2002 to finance private sector participation in strategic infrastructure projects of national importance. ISpA had issued notes guaranteed by the Republic of Italy under its 25 billion High-Speed Railway Funding Note Program, used to fund a north-south railway system in Italy. The ISpA-CDP merger did not have any impact on the ratings on the notes in the program, as any amounts due under the notes were guaranteed in full by the Republic of Italy (see "Bulletin: Ratings In Italian Government's Infrastrutture Program Unchanged After CDP Merger", published on Jan. 3, 2006, on RatingsDirect). Pursuant to the provisions of the Italian Budget Law for 2007, with effect from Dec. 27, 2006, all obligations in respect of the notes are undertaken directly by the Republic of Italy. To date, ISpA has issued debt securities in the form of 10 billion in notes and a further 3.5 billion in loans under the program. Sovereign Support And Supervision: Vast Majority Of Borrowing Guaranteed By State The Republic of Italy unconditionally and irrevocably guarantees all borrowing by CDP that is required to finance the SA business, except for the covered bonds, which are secured by CDP's SA portfolio. OA-related borrowings have no formal government support. SA business is expected to continue to represent more than 90% of overall lending operations for the next five years. Italian legislation provides several means by which the Italian government and other public authorities can exercise effective control over CDP. CDP's board of directors includes the chief accountant of the state, the director general of the MEF's Treasury department, and three experts on financial matters appointed by the MEF (as representatives of local administrations). The MEF has the power to define criteria for SA lending and funding by decree. It also dictates the criteria for determining the general and economic conditions for SA lending and funding. The MEF presents an annual report to parliament on CDP's activities and results, while the Italian Court of Accounts (Corte dei Conti)--which is responsible for controlling public expenditures and companies controlled by the state--supervises CDP's accounts and prepares its own report to parliament. Finally, a parliamentary commission prepares an annual report to parliament on CDP's performance. 5

6 Six of the current nine board members were appointed by the MEF, while the remaining three were named by the other shareholders. The fact that the majority of the share capital will remain legally in the hands of the state will ensure that the government maintains dominating influence and control, not only over CDP's local-administration business, but also over its OA-infrastructure lending. CDP falls under the supervision of the Italian central bank. Asset Quality: Strong, And Expected To Remain So At end-june 2010 (year-end 2009), 52% (52%) of CDP's 235 billion ( 227 billion) in assets consisted of liquidity in the form of demand deposit accounts with the Italian Treasury. Liquidity has risen as the growth in postal savings has outpaced that in loan demand. The Treasury account balances are remunerated in accordance with formulas that take into account short-term and long-term interest rates. Equity portfolio At end-june 2010, CDP held equity investments valued at 16.4 billion, or 7% of assets. When CDP was transformed into a SpA in 2003, it swapped part of its demand deposits at the state Treasury against equity holdings of state-owned enterprises Poste Italiane (35% stake; book value 2.5 billion, unlisted), ENI SpA (A+/Stable/A-1; 10%; 6.1 billion), and Enel SpA (A-/Stable/A-2; 17%; 5.7 billion). The asset swap allowed the state to reduce its debt burden in line with Maastricht definitions. CDP will only be able to sell its shares in the state-owned companies according to guidelines set out in an MEF decree. Terna SpA (A+/Stable/A-1; 30%; 1.3 billion) is another listed company in which CDP holds shares, and is Italy's dominant electricity transmission company. CDP's purchase of Terna shares took place under specific permission from the Competition Authority, which also permitted the sale of CDP's equity stake in Enel. CDP's divestment of Enel was approved on June 30, 2010 by its board of directors, and was transacted though a share swap with the MEF. We expect CDP to transfer its shares in Enel, Poste Italiane, and STMicroelectronics Holding N.V. (50%, 666 million) to the MEF in exchange for additional shares (the number depends on valuation of Poste Italiane shares) in ENI by the end of After this transaction, CDP will hold equity shares in two listed entities and a number of very small unlisted entities, which will account for less than 0.1% of CDP's equity holdings. Of the unlisted entities, CDP holds a 22% stake in Istituto per il Credito Sportivo (A/Stable/A-1), a 14.3% stake in Fondi Italiani per le Infrastrutture SGR SpA and a 14.3% stake in Fondo Italiano di Investimento SGR SpA, which was established in March 2010 to manage an investment fund for the re-capitalization of Italian SMEs. A government decree established the criteria for determining which equity investments CDP may make. It states that CDP may take equity stakes only in companies whose business relates to or complements CDP's corporate purpose. Although this should protect CDP to some degree from becoming a vehicle of the state's privatization strategy, the definition of eligible investments is far from clear and the acquisition of additional equity stakes over time cannot be ruled out. Loan portfolio At end-june 2010 (year-end 2009), CDP loans accounted for 37.8% (37.5%) of the company's assets. Only 4.1% ( 3.7 billion) of the total stock of outstanding loans was under the OA account, with the remainder falling under the conventional SA business unit. At end-june 2010, gross nonperforming debt was equivalent to just 0.1% of the loan portfolio. We expect CDP to maintain the traditionally high asset quality of its core business. CDP's public sector loan Standard & Poor s RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal December 7,

7 portfolio is dominated by exposure to the central government (about 40%), with the remainder split among local authorities, regions, autonomous provinces, and other public entities. CDP is the largest creditor of local authorities, holding nearly 50% of their liabilities in the form of loans. CDP's OA business, focusing on the local utilities sector and covering partly privatized former municipally owned companies, began only in 2005 and remains modest compared with CDP's traditional SA business. Sectors where OA lending could expand include water, gas, electricity, waste management, and public transport, but this line of business is expected to continue to account for well below 10% of CDP's total loans and less than 50% of its liquidity position. CDP's creditworthiness policy with regard to infrastructure lending is twofold: CDP individually assesses the credit standing of each potential borrower, analyzing its financial solidity, economic soundness, cash flow generation capacity, corporate structure, and ability to provide adequate guarantees, in line with a Bank of Italy regulation governing limitations on large exposures. CDP implements a procedure to analyze the "fit" of each potential borrower within the overall infrastructure lending portfolio. Although the pricing of OA loans is strictly dependent on CDP's cost of funding, borrowers are distinguished on the basis of an individual and portfolio-based credit assessment. Accordingly, OA lending is run on market conditions applicable to the specific creditworthiness of the borrower. When appropriate, CDP has the right to refuse to lend to a potential borrower that does not meet its requirements. Prior to 2004, CDP had a limited portfolio of OA-type lending and credit losses were minimal. The bulk of the outstanding credit was securitized in April 2003 (see "New Issue: C.P.G. Societa di Cartolarizzazione a r.l.", published on May 21, 2003, on RatingsDirect). OA lending benefits from a number of special types of protection to mitigate credit risk. CDP, for example, receives priority treatment if a concession expires or is revoked. Since a concessionaire must normally make significant investments in infrastructure when it wins a concession, it is entitled to receive an indemnity for investments made but not amortized when the concession is terminated before expiry. According to Law Decree 269/03, the indemnity can be used solely to repay a loan (granted by CDP or other banks) still outstanding on infrastructure and cannot be enforced by other creditors. If an infrastructure concessionaire changes, the new concessionaire will undertake the liabilities of the original one without releasing the latter from its obligation. In addition, the "ente affidante" (granting entity)--normally a local government--will ultimately guarantee residual debt until a new concessionaire is found. Profitability: Remains Modest, But Stable In keeping with CDP's public-policy mandate, profitability is not a business objective per se and has remained fairly modest, but stable, in the past. The profitability of CDP's core SA business is expected to remain broadly similar to past levels and will be largely determined by CDP itself through the setting of its lending rates. The OA business also generates modest profits and, with reasonable assumptions and appropriate loan pricing, should continue to do so. In 2009, CDP generated net income of 1,725 million, a 24% increase from the previous year (as of end-june 2010 this figure was 991 million). Over the first half of 2010, the net interest profitability ratio as a percentage of revenues deteriorated compared with year-end 2009, offset by an improvement in still negative net commission income and an increase in dividend income. Administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues declined to 2.8% in the first half of 2010 from 3.5% in The favorable average tax rate of 16% is a result of dividend income from 7

8 equity investments being partly tax-exempt. Dividend income accounts for a significant portion of CDP's revenues (63% as of end-june 2010). Liquidity: Postal Savings Instruments Fuel Very Strong Liquidity CDP's liquidity is likely in our opinion to remain ample. Accounting for 52% of assets as of end-june 2010, demand deposits with the Italian Treasury continued to grow strongly, as postal savings growth outpaced CDP's overall lending. Given fiscal austerity measured taken by many local governments and retail investor nervousness over risky investments, this liquidity-enhancing imbalance may well persist. Since September 2010, CDP has been accepted by the Bank of Italy as a counterparty in euro-system refinancing operations, which allows CDP to draw liquidity directly from the European Central Bank. A liquidity shortfall on the OA side, jeopardizing the timely payment of nonguaranteed OA obligations, can be averted through a transfer of liquidity from SA to OA. Such a transaction would have to occur under market conditions to comply with EU state aid regulation. OA would have to repay the liquidity line, offering appropriate compensation. Capital: Strong Base Compared With Peers CDP's capital base decreased from 14.4 in 2007 to 11.0 billion in reaching 4.7% of assets. It is still better than that of CDP's peers KfW, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, and Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (all rated AAA/Stable/A-1+), but is expected to further decline to the peer group median of about 3.0%-3.5%, due to an increase in assets and profitability moderation. Comparisons between CDP's capital adequacy and that of commercial banks are fundamentally flawed, however, since CDP holds a very large share of government-risk loans in its loan portfolio. As with liquidity, capital can be allocated across accounts from segregated to ordinary business and back. Funding Strategy: Postal Savings Provide Main Source Of Funding CDP's predominant source of financing is likely in our view to remain cheap and stable state-guaranteed postal savings instruments, distributed via the post office network. Postal funding increased by a further 5,285 million (2.8%) as of end-june 2010 compared with year-end 2009, having increased by 9% during the whole of Postal passbook accounts amounted to 93,057 million, and postal savings bonds, measured at amortized cost, amounted to 103,013 million, totaling 196,070 million in postal savings at end-june Funds raised via postal savings instruments must not be used to finance any OA lending operations. In 2004, in its quest to diversify its funding strategy, CDP established a 20 billion covered bond program backed by local and regional government loans. As of June 2010, a total of 6 billion in benchmark covered bonds were outstanding (see "Rating Assigned To Fourth Issuance From CDP's Italian Covered Bond Program", published on Sept. 8, 2006, on RatingsDirect). The amount pledged as collateral was 14.8 billion as of end-june However, we do not expect further issuance under the covered bond program in the short term due to unfavorable market conditions, while ample funding is available through postal savings instruments. OA lending will be mainly financed through nonguaranteed borrowing under a 4 billion euro medium-term note Standard & Poor s RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal December 7,

9 (EMTN) program and financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB, AAA/Stable/A-1+). In the first half of 2010, CDP obtained a new disbursement from credit facilities granted by the EIB in the amount of 100 million with a term of 20 years. In addition, CDP issued a 13 billion (about 102 million fully hedged) fixed rate bond in December 2009 and 150 million floating-rate bond in April 2010 under the EMTN program. A total of 300 million has been issued in the second half of Investors in CDP issues under the EMTN program, which is not guaranteed by the Republic of Italy, have access to any and all of the assets held by CDP (other than assets backing CDP's covered bonds). Furthermore, SA assets can be lent internally at market rates (according to EU state aid and competition rules) to the separate OA accounts to ensure payments on nonguaranteed OA obligations under the EMTN program. Such internal transactions are unlikely in our opinion to increase the default probability of SA obligations, because these are guaranteed by the sovereign. In practice, it can therefore be assumed that even the nonguaranteed part of CDP's obligations would be serviced pari passu with the explicitly guaranteed SA obligations, and therefore with the sovereign's own obligations. OA loans are expected to increase, but to stay well within 10% of total CDP loans and less than 50% of CDP's liquidity in the next five years. We expect OA liabilities (such as the EMTN program), which are not guaranteed, to remain at a similarly low level in the near future. Table 1 Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA Balance Sheet Statistics* (Mil. ) --Year ended Dec Assets end-june Liquid assets and interbank deposits on the Treasury accounts 121, , ,863 92,807 79,945 64,355 Assets held for trading and hedging derivatives 1,189 1, , Loans to customers and banks 88,814 85,178 82,237 78,631 75,096 59,283 Debt securities 2, ,012 Equity investments and shares 16,358 18,271 13,869 19,950 20,381 18,814 Accrued income, prepaid expenses and other non-interest bearing assets 3,539 2,450 4,770 2,212 3,899 5,058 Fixed assets Other assets Total assets 235, , , , , ,535 Liabilities Debt 219, , , , , ,927 Financial liabilities held for trading and hedging derivatives 2,914 1,675 1, Accrued expenses, deferred income and other non-interest bearing liabilities ,106 2,734 Other liabilities 962 1, Provisions for contingencies, taxes and staff severance pay ,131 1, Total liabilities 224, , , , , ,944 Equity 11,008 12,170 9,716 14,356 13,150 10,592 of which share capital 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 of which valuation reserve 283 2,136 1,162 6,736 6,449 4,967 of which net income for the year 991 1,725 1,389 1,374 1,876 1,613 Total liabilities and equity 235, , , , , ,536 Reclassified financial statements of CDP not including accounts of Terna S.p.A., recognized as a wholly owned subsidiary in

10 Table 2 Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA Profit And Loss Account* --Year ended Dec Profit and loss account end-june Interest earned on assets 3, , , , , ,874.0 Interest on liabilities (2,359.0) (5,565.7) (5,780.0) (4,938.0) (3,861.0) (2,839.0) Net Interest Income , , , , ,035.0 Commission Income Commission expense (to Poste Italiane) (340.0) (917.6) (736.0) (760.0) (725.0) (672.0) Net commission income (334.0) (909.3) (729.0) (755.0) (714.0) (671.0) Dividends , , Net result of trading activities (7.9) (12.0) (181.0) Net result of hedging activities (0.2) (26.1) (145.0) (55.0) (1.0) (27.0) Profits/losses on the sale or acquisition of assets/liabilities Gross income 1, , , , , ,154.0 Impairment adjustments of loans 0.1 (1.2) (24.0) (10.0) (35.0) (2.0) Net income from financial operations 1, , , , , ,152.0 Adminstrative expenditures (32.8) (71.0) (65.0) (66.0) (68.0) (70.0) Of which spending for personnel (19.5) (44.5) (41.0) (39.0) (40.0) (44.0) Other management costs Operating income 1, , , , , ,084.0 Net provisions (0.1) 0.4 (1.0) (1.0) 9.0 (4.0) Adjustments on value of property (4.5) (9.0) (9.0) (8.0) (6.0) (5.0) Profit (loss) due to mark to market of investments (505.0) (472.0) 0.0 (4.0) Gross operating profit (loss) net taxes 1, , , , , ,071.0 Taxes (194.6) (357.8) (540.0) (495.0) (558.0) (457.0) Net income , , , , ,613.0 Reclassified financial statements of CDP not including accounts of Terna S.p.A., recognized as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2007 Table 3 Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA Ratio Analysis* --Year ended Dec end-june Profitability (%) Spread on interest-bearing assets-liabilities Net interest income/revenues Net commission income/revenues (28.8) (44.2) (27.2) (30.8) (34.0) (29.3) Dividend income/revenues Noninterest income/revenues Administrative expenses/revenue of which personnel expense/revenues Net income/revenues Net income/employee (thousand euros) Personnel expense/employee (euros) 47, , , , , ,286.4 Standard & Poor s RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal December 7,

11 Table 3 Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA Ratio Analysis* (cont.) Cost income ratio Cost income ratio (incl. cost of postal funding) Net income/opening shareholders' equity (ROE) Net income/average shareholders' equity (ROAE) Net income/total average assets (ROAA) Liquidity and capitalization (%) Liquid assets/total assets OA assets/total assets Liquid assets/total liabilities Liabilities/loans Shareholder equity/assets Asset quality (%) Loans/total assets OA loans/total loans Equity investments/total assets Gross bad debts/gross loans to customers Reclassified financial statements of CDP not including accounts of Terna S.p.A., recognized as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2007 Ratings Detail (As Of December 7, 2010)* Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA Counterparty Credit Rating Senior Unsecured (17 Issues) A+ Counterparty Credit Ratings History 19-Oct Aug Jul-2004 Sovereign Rating Italy (Republic of) Related Entities Istituto per il Credito Sportivo Issuer Credit Rating Certificate Of Deposit Italy (Republic of) Issuer Credit Rating Transfer & Convertibility Assessment Commercial Paper Local Currency Senior Unsecured (133 Issues) A+ Short-Term Debt (2 Issues) A+/Stable/A-1+ A+/Stable/A-1+ AA-/Negative/A-1+ AA-/Stable/A-1+ A+/Stable/A-1+ A/Stable/A-1 A/A-1 A+/Stable/A-1+ *Unless otherwise noted, all ratings in this report are global scale ratings. Standard & Poor's credit ratings on the global scale are comparable across countries. Standard & Poor's credit ratings on a national scale are relative to obligors or obligations within that specific country. AAA A-1+ A

12 Additional Contact: Sovereign Ratings; Additional Contact: Sovereign Ratings; Standard & Poor s RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal December 7,

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