Review is triggered by the review on BNP Paribas's ratings
Paris, February 21, 2012 -- Moody's Investors Service has today placed on review for downgrade
the A1 long-term debt and deposit ratings of BGL BNP Paribas (BGL).
The rating action follows Moody's announcement on 15 February 2012
to place on review for downgrade the standalone and long-term ratings
of ultimate parent BNP Paribas (rated Aa3, on review for downgrade;
C/A3 on review for downgrade). BGL's Prime 1 short-term
rating has been affirmed. The review on BGL's long-term
rating will consider a potential downgrade of up to one notch.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The long-term ratings of BGL have been placed on review for downgrade
in conjunction with the review on the bank's parent, BNP Paribas.
The rating actions on European banks reflect, to differing degrees,
the combined pressures from (i) the adverse and prolonged impact of the
euro area crisis, which makes the operating environment very difficult
for European banks; (ii) the deteriorating creditworthiness of euro
area sovereigns, which led to the adjustment of the ratings for
nine European sovereigns on 13 February 2012; and (iii) longer-term,
the substantial challenges faced by banks and securities firms with significant
capital market activities (for further details please see "Moody's
Reviews Ratings for European Banks", published on 15 February
2012).
We do not consider BGL to be significantly affected by these trends due
to its relatively high capitalization, its retail focus and its
low use of wholesale funding. BGL's Bank Financial Strength
Rating (BFSR) is therefore C, with a stable outlook, translating
into a Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) of A3. Moody's assumes
a very high potential support from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
which results in a two-notch uplift from the BCA to A1.
Nonetheless, although BGL's BFSR is stable, we will
consider during the review to what extent BGL's long-term
ratings might be constrained by a possible lowering of BNP Paribas's
ratings. We will consider a potential downgrade of the A1 long-term
ratings of up to one notch, i.e. A2.
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING UP / DOWN
BGL's long-term debt and deposit ratings are currently under
review for downgrade. As such, a rating upgrade is unlikely
in the near future.
BGL's long-term ratings could be downgraded in the event
of a downgrade of BNP Paribas's long-term ratings.
The methodologies used in this rating were Bank Financial Strength Ratings:
Global Methodology, published in February 2007 and Incorporation
of Joint-Default Analysis into Moody's Bank Ratings:
A Refined Methodology, published in March 2007. Please see
the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these
methodologies.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
The rating has been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s)
and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.
Information sources used to prepare the rating are the following :
parties involved in the ratings, public information, and confidential
and proprietary Moody's Investors Service information.
Moody's considers the quality of information available on the rated
entity, obligation or credit satisfactory for the purposes of issuing
this review.
Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it
uses in assigning a rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's
considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent
third-party sources. However, Moody's is not
an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate
information received in the rating process.
Moody's Investors Service may have provided Ancillary or Other Permissible
Service(s) to the rated entity or its related third parties within the
two years preceding the credit rating action. Please see the special
report "Ancillary or other permissible services provided to entities
rated by MIS's EU credit rating agencies" on the ratings disclosure
page on our website www.moodys.com for further information.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for general disclosure on potential conflicts of interests.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for information on (A) MCO's major shareholders (above 5%)
and for (B) further information regarding certain affiliations that may
exist between directors of MCO and rated entities as well as (C) the names
of entities that hold ratings from MIS that have also publicly reported
to the SEC an ownership interest in MCO of more than 5%.
A member of the board of directors of this rated entity may also be a
member of the board of directors of a shareholder of Moody's Corporation;
however, Moody's has not independently verified this matter.
Please see Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions on the Rating
Process page on www.moodys.com for further information on
the meaning of each rating category and the definition of default and
recovery.
Please see ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for the last rating action and the rating history. The date on
which some ratings were first released goes back to a time before Moody's
ratings were fully digitized and accurate data may not be available.
Consequently, Moody's provides a date that it believes is
the most reliable and accurate based on the information that is available
to it. Please see the ratings disclosure page on our website www.moodys.com
for further information.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has
issued the rating.
Guillaume Lucien-Baugas
Analyst
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's France SAS
96 Boulevard Haussmann
Paris 75008
France
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Carola Schuler
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Releasing Office:
Moody's France SAS
96 Boulevard Haussmann
Paris 75008
France
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Moody's places BGL BNP Paribas's A1 long-term debt and deposit ratings on review for downgrade