S&P Asgns Prelim Rtgs in Fineco's Italian Loans Deal.

Business Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2003

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its preliminary credit ratings to the asset-backed floating-rate notes to be issued by F-E Personal Loans Sec. S.r.l., an SPE (see list below).

The collateral backing the notes is a portfolio of personal loans made by Fineco Banca ICQ SpA to Italian employees, which are either (i) collateralized by the assignment of one-fifth of the employee's salary ("salary assignment loans" or "cessione del quinto loans - CQS loans") or (ii) repayable by way of payment delegation of the employee's salary (DP loans).

Fineco Banca ICQ has been actively engaged in underwriting CQS loans since 1995, and ranks first in that specific market. Fineco Banca ICQ was also the first Italian institution to begin DP loans activity in Italy in 1999.

This is the third securitization of CQS loans originated by Fineco Banca ICQ.

The ratings reflect:

-- Standard & Poor's analysis performed on the portfolio of

assets to be transferred to the issuer;

-- The assessment of the replenishment criteria, which restrict

substitutions and protect investors against any deterioration

in the quality and diversity of assets during the revolving

period;

-- Strong credit protection for class A noteholders provided by a

combination of subordination of the class B and C notes,

excess spread, and payments due to the issuer under the swap

agreement;

-- Strong protection for the class B noteholders provided by a

combination of subordination of the class C notes, excess

spread, and payments due to the issuer under the swap

agreement;

-- The suitability of the servicer to fulfill its roles in this

transaction as confirmed by an on-site review of its

operations carried out by Standard & Poor's;

-- The credit quality of the swap provider, the account guarantee

provider, the Italian paying agent, and liquidity facility

providers; and

-- The sound payment structure and cash flow mechanics of the

transaction. The full presale report for this transaction was

published today and is available to subscribers of

RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis

system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. The presale report can also

be found on Standard & Poor's Web site at

www.standardandpoors.com. Click on Fixed Income; then, in the

left navigation bar under Browse by Sector, select Structured

Finance; scroll down to Presale Credit Reports to locate the

article. Alternatively, call one of Standard & Poor's Ratings

Desks: London (44) 20-7847-7400; Paris (33) 1-4420-6705;

Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-223; or Stockholm (46) 8-440-5916.

Members of the media may contact the Press Office Hotline on

(44) 20-7826-3605 or via [e-mail].

RATINGS LIST
F-E Personal Loans Sec. S.r.l.
EUR446.6 Million Asset-Backed Floating-Rate Notes Series 2003-1
Class        Preliminary       Preliminary
             Rating            Amount (Mil. EUR)
A            AAA                 410.0
B            AA                   26.7
C            N.R.                  9.9
N.R.--Not rated.

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Copyright 2003, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services