Verona, 27 January 2012

The rating agency Standard & Poor’s has communicated today the removal of Cattolica Assicurazioni from creditwatch negative and the revision of its rating from BBB+ to BBB, with a negative outlook. Standard & Poor’s states that such correction should be put in relation to the recent downgrading of the Italian Republic and that the negative outlook reflects the forecast on the adequacy of the level of capitalisation, which might be influenced by the persisting situation of unfavourable economic and financial market trends.

Nevertheless “the ratings continue to reflect Standard & Poor's view of the strong operating performance of Cattolica’s property/casualty business, leading competitive position in the Italian market, and management's ability to deliver results”.