Fitch Upgrades PNC's Individual Ratings.

CHICAGO -- Fitch has upgraded the Individual Rating of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC) to 'B' from 'B/C'. Fitch has also raised the Individual Ratings of PNC affiliates PNC Bank N.A., PNC Bank Delaware, and PNC Funding Corporation to 'B' from 'B/C'. The Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR), short-term, and Support ratings of all entities are affirmed. A complete list of ratings follows at the end of this release. The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

Fitch has upgraded PNC's Individual Ratings in recognition of the resolution of past regulatory issues and significant litigation, as well as its successful execution of the merger with Riggs National Corporation.

Fitch has affirmed the long-term and short-term ratings of PNC and its affiliates due to the company's good recent earnings and asset quality performance, and above-average liquidity. This assessment is balanced by the fact that PNC is involved in several economically sensitive businesses, such as private equity operations, large corporate lending, and mezzanine debt financing.

Fitch believes that the pending transaction between PNC's affiliate BlackRock and Merrill Lynch & Co. should be a net benefit to PNC. PNC's stake in BlackRock will be revalued due to the transaction, resulting in a significant after-tax gain to PNC and a corresponding increase in regulatory and tangible capital. While PNC's stake in BlackRock will be reduced from its current level of 70% to about 34%, the smaller stake will represent ownership of an asset manager with greater scale and diversity. PNC does face some indirect execution risk -- if there are any merger integration problems at BlackRock, this could result in lower earnings from this significant affiliate.

Fitch upgrades the following:

PNC Financial Services Group

--Individual to 'B' from 'B/C'.

PNC Bank N.A.

--Individual to 'B' from 'B/C'.

PNC Bank Delaware

--Individual to 'B' from 'B/C'.

PNC Funding Corp

--Individual to 'B' from 'B/C'.

Fitch affirms the following, with a Stable Outlook:

PNC Financial Services Group

--Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) 'A';

--Long-term Subordinated 'A-';

--Preferred Stock 'A-'

--Short-term 'F1';

--Support '5'.

PNC Bank N.A.

--Long-term deposits 'A+';

--Long-term IDR 'A';

--Long-term senior unsecured 'A';

--Long-term subordinated 'A-';

--Short-term 'F1';

--Short-term deposits 'F1';

--Support '4'.

PNC Bank Delaware

--Long-term deposits 'A+';

--Long-term IDR 'A';

--Short-term 'F1';

--Short-term deposits 'F1';

--Support '4'.

PNC Funding Corp

--Long-term IDR 'A';

--Long-term senior unsecured 'A';

--Long-term subordinated 'A-';

--Short-term 'F1';

--Support '5'.

PNC Financial Corp.

--Long-term subordinated 'A-'.

Riggs National Corporation

--Long-term subordinated 'A-'.

PNC Capital Trust C, D

PNC Institutional Capital Trust A, B

Riggs Capital

Riggs Capital II

UNB Capital Trust I

--Trust Preferred 'A-'.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.