S&P Asgns Prlm Rtgs in Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Deal.

Business Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 24, 2003

(Standard & Poor's)--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its preliminary credit ratings to the EUR683 million "public service providers portfolio" asset-backed floating-rate notes to be issued by SPE C.P.G. Societa di Cartolarizzazione a r.l. (see list below).

The collateral backing the notes is made up of a portfolio of monetary claims originated by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) arising out of performing fixed- and floating-rate loans granted by the originator to operators of public services plus unrated floating-rate notes issued by C.P.G. Societa di Cartolarizzazione, backed by a loan to AEM Elettricita SpA originated by CDP.

CDP effectively operates as the lending arm of the Italian government to public service providers for the purpose of financing public service projects such as the operation of water treatment plants, energy distribution, maintenance of public parks, gas distribution, and the operation of public stadiums.

"This is the second transaction that CDP has originated. The real credit risk for the noteholders is the principal debtors' credit quality, as the ultimate obligors of the loan repayments," said Lapo Guadagnuolo, rating specialist at Standard & Poor's Structured Finance ratings group in London.

"There will be no cash reserve or funded credit enhancement at closing. However, the ability of the transaction to produce excess spread used to repay principal and interest on the notes is considerable," he added.

The ratings reflect:

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

assets transferred to the issuer;

-- The strong protection for noteholders provided by the levels

of excess spread by the originated loans and kept in the

transaction to satisfy the issuer's obligations;

-- The level of credit support for the class A notes, provided by

subordination of the class B and C notes;

-- The suitability of the subservicer in fulfilling its role in

this transaction, as confirmed by onsite reviews of its

operation by Standard & Poor's;

-- The credit quality of Banca d'Italia (AAA/Stable/A-1+) as

collection account holder;

-- The credit quality of JPMorganChase Bank, Milan branch

(guaranteed by JPMorganChase Bank; AA-/Negative/A-1+) as

transaction accounts bank;

-- The credit quality of Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc.

(guaranteed by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.; A/Negative/A-1),

Sanpaolo IMI SpA (A+/Stable/A-1), and UBS AG, London branch

(guaranteed by UBS AG; AA+/Negative/A-1+) as hedging

counterparties; 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
C.P.G. Societa di Cartolarizzazione ar.l.
EUR683 Million "Public Service Providers Portfolio" Asset-Backed
Floating-Rate Notes
Class        Preliminary      Preliminary
             Rating           Amount (Mil. EUR)
A1           AAA              100
A2           AAA              466
B            AA                76
C            AA                41

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Copyright 2003, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services