Outlooks on backed ratings of another four French financial institutions changed to stable from positive
Paris, February 25, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") today revised
the outlooks to stable from positive on the Aa2 long-term deposit,
issuer and senior unsecured ratings of Caisse Des Depots et Consignations
(CDC), EPIC Bpifrance's Aa2 long-term issuer rating
and SFIL's Aa3 long-term deposit, issuer and senior
unsecured ratings. Moody's concurrently affirmed all these
ratings.
At the same time, Moody's affirmed the Aa2 senior unsecured
ratings backed by the government of France, by CDC or by EPIC Bpifrance
of the following four entities and changed their outlooks to stable from
positive:
- Bpifrance Financement ;
- Caisse Centrale du Credit Immobilier de France (3CIF) ;
- CDC Ixis and Ixis Corporate & Investment Bank (Ixis CIB),
now merged into Natixis.
Today's actions followed Moody's change of the outlook on
the Aa2 ratings of the government of France to stable from positive.
For more details, please refer to Moody's press releases dated
dated 21 February 2020 at " Moody's changes outlook on France's
rating to stable from positive, affirms Aa2 rating" (https://www.moodys.com/research/--PR_418349).
RATINGS RATIONALE
--- CAISSE DES DEPOTS ET CONSIGNATIONS
Moody's revised the outlook on CDC's long-term senior
unsecured debt, issuer and deposit ratings of Aa2 to stable from
positive, in line with the revised outlook on the rating of the
French government. CDC is intrinsically linked to the French government,
given its governance structure as well as operational and financial ties.
As a result, Moody's aligns CDC's ratings with those
of the French government.
--- EPIC BPIFRANCE AND BPIFRANCE FINANCEMENT
The change of outlook to stable from positive on the Aa2 issuer rating
of EPIC Bpifrance and the Aa2 backed long-term senior unsecured
ratings of its fully guaranteed subsidiary Bpifrance Financement reflects
the revised outlook on the rating of the government of France.
EPIC Bpifrance is fully owned by the French state and benefits through
its status as an Etablissement public à caractère industriel
et commercial (EPIC) from an implicit guarantee from the state.
EPIC Bpifrance is thus intrinsically tied to the French state through
its operational and financial ties with the government. As such,
its issuer rating is aligned with that of the French government.
--- SFIL
The change in the outlook on SFIL's Aa3 issuer, deposit and
senior unsecured debt ratings reflects the change in outlook on the rating
of the government of France to stable from positive.
SFIL is a state-owned financial institution, held 75%
directly by the French state and 25% indirectly through CDC and
La Banque Postale. It is entrusted with a public service mandate
and holds a leading position in French public-sector financing.
As SFIL's reference shareholder, the French government is committed
to support the bank's solvency and liquidity through a letter of comfort
which has been communicated to the French banking supervisor. SFIL
also plays a key role in financing French local authorities and hospitals,
and a recent expansion in its policy mandate to export and strategic project
financing further enhances SFIL's status and importance in the domestic
market. Under the planned transfer of the government's stake
in SFIL to CDC in the coming months, CDC will become a 99.99%
shareholder of the bank and the government will keep one share.
SFIL's ownership will therefore remain entirely public. Moody's
expects the bank's future shareholders to remain committed to supporting
SFIL's solvency and liquidity. The probability of government support
in case of need is thus very high for SFIL's issuer, deposit and
debt ratings, which results in a government support uplift of two
notches.
--- BACKED RATINGS OF DEBT ISSUED BY CDC IXIS and
IXIS CIB
The change in the outlook on the Aa2 backed ratings of senior unsecured
debt issued by CDC Ixis and Ixis CIB reflects the revised outlook on the
government of France's rating.
Following the creation of Groupe BCPE in 2009, these debt obligations
continue to be directly guaranteed by, or to benefit from recourse
to CDC. Therefore, this debt continues to be aligned with
CDC's Aa2 ratings and outlook.
--- BACKED RATINGS OF CAISSE CENTRALE DU CREDIT IMMOBILIER
DE FRANCE (3CIF)
The backed senior unsecured rating of 3CIF is based on the unconditional
and irrevocable guarantee from the French government. The change
on the outlook on its Aa2 backed ratings reflects the revised outlook
on the government of France's ratings.
WHAT COULD MOVE THE RATINGS UP/DOWN
The ratings of CDC, EPIC Bpifrance, SFIL and the backed ratings
of Bpifrance Financement, CDC Ixis, Ixis CIB and 3CIF will
likely be upgraded if the government of France's rating is upgraded.
A downgrade of the government of France's rating will likely result in
a downgrade of all these ratings. SFIL's ratings could also be
downgraded if its standalone financial strength deteriorates, if
a change in its liability structure results in a higher loss-given-failure
for its depositors or senior unsecured creditors, or if the probability
of government support decreases.
LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS
Issuer: CDC Ixis
..Affirmations:
....Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture,
affirmed Aa2, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
..No Outlook assigned
Issuer: IXIS Corporate & Investment Bank
..Affirmations:
....Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture,
affirmed Aa2, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
..No Outlook assigned
Issuer: SFIL
..Affirmations:
....Long-term Bank Deposits,
affirmed Aa3, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
....Long-term Issuer Ratings,
affirmed Aa3, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture,
affirmed Aa3, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
....Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note
Program, affirmed (P)Aa3
..Outlook Action:
....Outlook changed to Stable from Positive
Issuer: Caisse C'ale du Credit Immobilier de France
..Affirmations:
....Backed Senior Unsecured Medium-Term
Note Program, affirmed (P)Aa2
....Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture,
affirmed Aa2, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
..Stable Outlook not affected
Issuer: Caisse Des Depots et Consignations
..Affirmations:
....Long-term Bank Deposits,
affirmed Aa2, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
....Long-term Issuer Rating,
affirmed Aa2, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture,
affirmed Aa2, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
....Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note
Program, affirmed (P)Aa2
..Outlook Action:
....Outlook changed to Stable from Positive
Issuer: Bpifrance Financement
..Affirmations:
....Backed Senior Unsecured Medium-Term
Note Program, affirmed (P)Aa2
....Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture,
affirmed Aa2, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
..Outlook Action:
....Outlook changed to Stable from Positive
Issuer: EPIC Bpifrance
..Affirmations:
....Long-term Issuer Ratings,
affirmed Aa2, outlook changed to Stable from Positive
..Outlook Action:
....Outlook changed to Stable from Positive
PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGIES
The principal methodology used in rating CDC Ixis, IXIS Corporate
& Investment Bank, Caisse C'ale du Credit Immobilier de France
and SFIL was Banks Methodology published in November 2019. The
principal methodology used in rating Caisse Des Depots et Consignations,
EPIC Bpifrance and Bpifrance Financement was Government-Related
Issuers Methodology published in February 2020. Please see the
Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of
these methodologies.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of
debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures
in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the
same series, category/class of debt, security 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 certain
regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the
support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action
for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's
credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement
provides certain 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.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action,
and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action,
the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
The below contact information is provided for information purposes only.
Please see the ratings tab of the issuer page at www.moodys.com,
for each of the ratings covered, Moody's disclosures on the
lead rating analyst and the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the ratings.
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.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Yasuko Nakamura
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's France SAS
96 Boulevard Haussmann
Paris 75008
France
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454
Nicholas Hill
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454
Releasing Office:
Moody's France SAS
96 Boulevard Haussmann
Paris 75008
France
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454
