This publication does not constitute a rating action.

The affirmation reflects the maintenance of low business risks and Scope’s expectation that Eidsiva will contain financial risks amid high capex needs, albeit with limited headroom for underperformance.

JD.com’s arrival in European consumer goods retail sets an important precedent for the sector and represents a further shift in commercial spheres of influence in the region.

The affirmation reflects Scope’s view that, despite weaker credit metrics following space and defence transactions, the financial risk profile remains in line with the current assessment, while the business risk profile is unchanged.

The rating is equalised with the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia’s due to the explicit refinancing guarantee the state provides to NRW.BANK. Further, NRW.BANK benefits from a mature legal setup, high strategic importance and strong fundamentals.

Resilient profitability, solid asset quality and capital buffers make for a balanced base case for European banks. Alongside stable expected collateral performance, most covered bond programmes can withstand issuer downgrades of up to three notches.

The periodic review has resulted in no rating action.

The period review has resulted in no rating action.

The periodic review has resulted in no rating action.

The underlying portfolio of secured and unsecured NPL loans was extended to companies and individuals by various Italian banks and is serviced by Prelios Credit Servicing S.p.A. and Fire S.p.A.