David Spring, +1-312-368-3194 (Chicago)

John Mackerey, +1-212-908-0366 (New York)

Sharon Haas, +1-212-908-0362 (New York)

Sandro Scenga, +1-212-908-0278 (Media Relations, New York)

sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of National City Corporation (NCC) and its affiliates to `A+' from 'BBB+' and removed them from Rating Watch Positive. Fitch has also affirmed the 'A+' IDRs of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC) and its affiliates. The Rating Outlook is Stable for all entities. A complete list of ratings follows at the end of this release.

The ratings of NCC and its affiliates have been aligned with those of PNC and its affiliates following the merger of those two companies. Since National City Corporation ceased to exist as a separate legal entity upon consummation of the transaction, Fitch is withdrawing the issuer-level ratings of this entity, while ratings on this entity's outstanding debt remain in place.

Additionally, Fitch has upgraded the Support Ratings for all bank affiliates to '3' from '4', reflecting the importance of the combined franchise to the U.S. banking system. The combined PNC/NCC bank is now the fifth largest in terms of deposits, and has a significant market share in many key metropolitan areas in the eastern U.S.

PNC has fared relatively well during the credit/asset quality crisis facing the banking industry due to small subprime mortgage exposure and large syndicated bridge lending. PNC has taken mark to market charges against its inventory of commercial mortgage loans held for sale, though the exposure in this area is manageable. Like many of its peers, PNC has experienced rising losses in home builder and home equity credits, but the size of these books is manageable in relation to the overall organization, and loss rates are similar to or better than most peers at this ratings level.

While every merger has integration risks, PNC's track record with previous acquisitions has been solid. Recent targets, while considerably smaller than NCC, include some troubled institutions such as Riggs National Corporation. NCC's asset quality problems are well-identified and are relatively contained in a liquidating portfolio. PNC estimates lifetime losses and other adjustments against NCC's loan portfolio to be approximately 17.5% of the total. Some of these are part of NCC's existing reserves, some are being taken as adjustments at closing and some will be reflected in provisions over time. Fitch considers the loss estimate reasonable.

A key challenge facing the combined company is the management of parent company liquidity.