Following the announcement of an agreement between Polish government and UniCredito, Fitch agency has affirmed Bank BPH support rating at ‘1’ and Bank Pekao Default rating at ‘A’ with stable outlook. Bank Pekao’s other ratings have been affirmed at Short-term ‘F1’, Individual ‘C’ and Support ‘1’. Fitch wrote in a report dated Friday that those ratings are based on extremely strong potential support from controlling shareholder – UniCredito. Fitch also considers that the agreement between Polish Government and UniCredito will to a limited extent reduce the benefits of the merger. Fitch agency had admitted that the two year job cut freeze means it will take longer to achieve costs savings from the merger. An Individual rating at ‘C’ of Bank Pekao already takes into consideration the costs of the merger and any required restructuring.