LISBON: The country’s two biggest lenders, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit, both saw improvements in their overall risk scores in the fourth quarter. UniCredit, the biggest bank and a persistent focus for investor concern over bank capital levels in Europe saw the biggest rise, gaining another 1.5 points to 5.6 out of 10. This Italian recovery, however, is in stark contrast to Portugal, where doubts about the success of a private-sector sale of Novo Banco kept optimism in Lisbon low.
More scores fell than rose in the Portuguese section of the survey, which asks credit and equity analysts to award banks scores across 14 categories, covering management and governance, finances and capital. Wider declines in Portugal came despite a marked improvement in the perception of the capital strength at Banco Comercial Portugues (BCP). It is carrying out a €1.3 billion capital increase, including up to €531 million from Fosun International.
