UniCredit, Intesa Among 13 Italian Banks Cut by Moody’s

UniCredit SpA and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA were among 13 Italian banks that had credit ratings cut by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited the nation’s weakening economy and government finances.

UniCredit, Italy’s biggest bank, and Intesa, its second-largest, had their debt and deposit ratings lowered two steps to Baa2 and may face further downgrades, Moody’s said yesterday in a statement. It was the second time in two months that Moody’s downgraded the firms, which have “high direct exposure to sovereign debt.”