TEXT-Fitch cuts 6 Trento public sector entities

Feb 8 - Fitch Ratings has downgraded six public sector entities (PSEs)
in the Italian Autonomous Province of Trento and removed their Short-term and
Long-term ratings from Rating Watch Negative, where they were placed on 21
December 2011. The affected PSEs are Cassa del Trentino (CdT). Patrimonio del
Trentino (PdT), Trentino Trasporti (TT), ITEA, University of Trento (UT),
Trentino Svilupppo (TS).

The rating actions largely reflect the downgrade of the Autonomous Province of
Trento's Long-term rating to 'AA-'/Negative, on 8 February 2012. Trento is the
sponsor of the six entities under Fitch's "Rating of Public Sector Entities
Outside the United States" Rating Criteria (dated 21 April 2011 at
www.fitchratings.com).

The downgrade of the Autonomous Province of Trento followed the downgrade of
Italy's sovereign ratings to 'A-'/Negative on 27 January 2011 given that the
maximum leeway of three notches for a subnational rating above the sovereign,
according to the agency's "Rating Subnationals above the Sovereign in the Euro
Area" criteria, had already been exhausted. Trento's Short-term rating was
affirmed at 'F1+'.

The ratings and Outlook of CdT remain equalised with those of the Autonomous
Province of Trento. The rating reflects the guarantee provided by the Province
on CdT's debt under provincial law 13/1973 art. 8 bis and following
modifications.

PdT and TT are the Province's operational arms for the management of
infrastructure in the real estate and public transport sectors. Both PdT and TT
are shell companies with income streams primarily stemming from provincial
subsidies for debt amortisation. This feature strengthens the link with the
Province of Trento's creditworthiness, although the lack of a guarantee leads to
a one-notch difference from the sponsor. The Outlooks remains aligned with that
of the Province in light of the close dependency.

Most of the factors under the criteria "Ratings of Public Sector Entities
Outside the United States" support the ratings of the other provincial entities
such as ITEA (social housing), and TS (a developmental company). Despite some
geographical concentration risk due to the fact that these three entities limit
their operations to the provincial ambit, their income stream is partly (ITEA)
or totally (TS) generated by commercial activities which somewhat loosens the
operational links with the province. Support is provided in various ways,
ranging from debt amortisation subsidies for ITEA to an ultimate guarantee on
debt liabilities for TS in view of its lower dependency on operating subsidies.
Moreover, Fitch believes that over the medium term, these entities may incur
non-subsidised, or not fully subsidised, borrowing as part of their plans to
graduate towards a more marked orientation to market operations, thereby
triggering a two-notch difference from the Province's rating.

UT's turnover is about 30% exposed to student demand and the ability of the
university to attract revenue-generating business partnerships. Fitch expects
provincial subsidies to continue to represent about two-thirds of the annual
income and cover most of the capital spending over the medium term, and sees
UT's spending flexibility as a trigger for balanced income statements.

The Stable Outlook for these ITEA, TS and UT balances ongoing governance and
financial links with the Province with their unchanged standalone credit
quality, which benefits from a robust local economy by international standards.
While the indirect influence of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis on the
Province of Trento makes a rating upgrade unlikely over the medium term for the
three PSEs, ratings may be downgraded if the Province is downgraded by more than
one notch, or if their standalone credit quality weakens.

The rating actions are as follows:

Cassa del Trentino SpA
Long-term foreign and local currency ratings downgraded to 'AA-' from 'AA+',
Negative Outlook
Short-term rating of 'F1+' affirmed
Primary analyst: Alessandro Musto
Secondary analyst: Danilo Quattromani

Patrimonio del Trentino SpA
Long-term foreign and local currency ratings downgraded to 'A+' from 'AA',
Negative Outlook
Short-term rating downgraded to 'F1' from 'F1+'
Primary analyst: Danilo Quattromani
Secondary analyst: Alessandro Musto

Trentino Trasporti SpA
Long-term foreign and local currency ratings downgraded to 'A+' from 'AA',
Negative Outlook
Short-term rating downgraded to 'F1' from 'F1+'
Primary analyst: Danilo Quattromani
Secondary analyst: Alessandro Musto

ITEA (Istituto Trentino per l'Edilizia Abitativa) SpA
Long-term foreign and local currency ratings downgraded to 'A' from 'AA', Stable
Outlook
Short-term rating downgraded to 'F1' from 'F1+'
Primary analyst: Alessandro Musto
Secondary analyst: Raffaele Carnevale

University of Trento
Long-term foreign and local currency ratings downgraded to 'A' from 'AA', Stable
Outlook;
Short-term rating downgraded to 'F1' from 'F1+'
Primary analyst: Alessandro Musto
Secondary analyst: Raffaele Carnevale

Trentino Sviluppo SpA
Long-term foreign and local currency ratings downgraded to 'A' from 'AA', Stable
Outlook
Short-term rating downgraded to 'F1' from 'F1+'
Primary analyst: Alessandro Musto
Secondary analyst: Danilo Quattromani

Contact:

Raffaele Carnevale
Senior Director
+39 02 87 90 87 203
Fitch Italia SpA
1, Vicolo Santa Maria alla Porta
20123 Milan

Danilo Quattromani
Director
+39 02 87 90 87 275
Fitch Italia SpA
1, Vicolo Santa Maria alla Porta
20123 Milan

Alessandro Msusto
Associate Director
+39 02 87 90 87 201
Fitch Italia SpA
1, Vicolo Santa Maria alla Porta
20123 Milan

Committee Chairperson
Guido Bach
Senior Director
+49 69 76 80 76 111

Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com. The ratings above
were solicited by, or on behalf of, the issuer, and therefore, Fitch has been
compensated for the provision of the ratings.

Applicable criteria, "Tax-Supported Rating Criteria", dated 15 August 2011, and
"International Local and Regional Governments Rating Criteria outside United
States", dated 19 April 2011, "Rating Subnationals above the Sovereign in the
Euro Area", dated 1 June 2011, "Rating of Public Sector Entities - Outside the
United States" dated 21 April 2011, "Rating Guidelines for Colleges and
Universities Outside US" dated 7 July 2011 are available on www.fitchratings.com

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
Ratings of Public Sector Rating Entities - Outside the United States
Rating Guidelines for Colleges and Universities Outside the US
Tax-Supported Rating Criteria
International Local and Regional Governments Rating Criteria - Outside the
United States
Rating Subnationals Above the Sovereign in the Euro Area