SF market round-up: S&P knocks Italian regionals

Italian regional authorities’ healthcare securitizations are under threat following the ratings of Lazio, Campania and Abruzzo being placed on negative watch by Standard & Poor’s. Threats to the accounting treatment given by Eurostat and also domestic authorities point to the regions’ healthcare securitizations being classed as debt. This gave S&P the jitters over how they would continue to fund their healthcare deficits.

Although S&P is not specifically concerned with the accounting treatment, the rating agency does believe there is a chance that Italian healthcare ABS might be ruled inconsistent with Article 199 of the Italian constitution, which prevents regions funding operations with market transactions.