TEXT-S&P raises short-term rtgs on 8 Brazilian financial institutions

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)

July 11 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its short-term ratings
on the following Brazilian financial institutions to 'A-2' from 'A-3':

-- Banco Bradesco S.A.;

-- Banco Citibank S.A.;

-- Banco do Brasil S.A. (BdB);

-- Banco do Nordeste do Brasil S.A.(BNB);

-- Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A.;

-- HSBC Bank Brasil S.A.;

-- Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.; and

-- Banco Itau BBA S.A.
All other ratings and outlooks remain unchanged. The change does not reflect
an improvement in our view of these banks' short-term creditworthiness.

The rating action on these entities, which include six private universal banks
and two government-related entities, mirrors the same rating action we took on
the short-term foreign currency rating on Brazil (see "Brazil Short-Term
Foreign Currency Rating Raised To 'A-2' On Criteria Change; Long-Term Rating
Affirmed; Outlook Stable," published on July 9). The upgrade results from the
revision of our criteria on the linkage between the long-term and short-term
ratings on sovereigns. According to the criteria, a short-term rating on a
sovereign is derived uniquely from the long-term rating by applying a linkage
that is consistent with that applied to corporate entities.

The short-term ratings on the six private universal banks currently are the
same as, or limited by, the sovereign rating on Brazil due to their large
asset exposure to it. Mostly, this exposure is both in their investment and
loan portfolios. We do not anticipate their sovereign exposure to change.

The ratings on BdB are limited by the sovereign rating on Brazil and continue
to reflect our view of its "very high" likelihood of extraordinary government
support. The latter is based on our assessment of BdB's "very important" role
for the government and its "very strong" link to the Brazilian government.

In addition, the ratings on BNB are the same as the sovereign rating on Brazil
and continue to reflect our view of its "very high" likelihood of
extraordinary government support. The latter is based on our assessment of
BNBs "very important" role for the government and its "very strong" link to it.

RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH

-- Brazil Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating Raised To 'A-2' On Criteria
Change; Long-Term Rating Affirmed; Outlook Stable, July 9, 2012

-- Short-Term/Long-Term Ratings Linkage Criteria For Corporate And
Sovereign Issuers, May 15, 2012

-- Banks: Rating Methodology And Assumptions, Nov. 9, 2011

-- Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment Methodology And Assumptions,
Nov. 9, 2011

RATINGS LIST

To From

Banco Bradesco S.A.
Banco Citibank S.A.
Banco do Brasil S.A.
Banco do Nordeste do Brasil S.A.
Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A.
HSBC Bank Brasil S.A.
Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.
Banco Itau BBA S.A.
Issuer credit rating BBB/Stable/A-2 BBB/Stable/A-3

Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on
the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com. All ratings affected
by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at
www.standardandpoors.com. Use the Ratings search box located in the left
column.

(New York Ratings Team)