Italy prosecutor asks for jail sentences for five S&P managers

TRANI, Italy (Reuters) - An Italian prosecutor has asked for five managers at ratings agency Standard & Poor's to be jailed for up to three years in a probe over alleged market manipulation, a court heard on Friday.

Italian prosecutor Michele Ruggiero asked for jail sentences of between two and three years for the managers as well as a fine of 4.6 million euros for the agency.

S&P said none of the accusations were backed up by proof.

In emailed comments, the agency said the various hearings had repeatedly shown S&P's analyses had been in line with reports from the Bank of Italy and leading international institutions.

"The accusations against Standard & Poor's are based on a bad interpretation of normal analytical debate, crucial for our ratings process," it said.

The investigation against Standard & Poor's, as well as rivals Fitch and Moody's, was launched by prosecutors in Trani, southern Italy, in January 2012.

Trani prosecutors allege that reports by the ratings agencies on Italy and its banking system during the euro zone debt crisis were mismanaged and provoked sharp losses on the Milan stock market.

The case against Moody's was dropped in 2012.

Earlier this month, prosecutors asked for Fitch analyst David Riley to be jailed for nine months. Riley denies any wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Damiano Vincenzo; Writing by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Alison Williams)