DBRS Morningstar Confirms SFIL’s LT Ratings at AA (high) with a Stable Trend

DBRS Ratings GmbH (DBRS Morningstar) confirmed SFIL SA’s (SFIL or the Bank) ratings, including the Long-Term Issuer Rating at AA (high) and the Short-Term Issuer Rating at R-1 (high). All ratings have a Stable Trend. SFIL’s Support Assessment remains SA1. See a full list of ratings at the end of this press release.

KEY RATING CONSIDERATIONS
The confirmation of SFIL’s Long-Term Issuer Rating at AA (high), Stable trend follows DBRS Morningstar’s confirmation of the Republic of France’s Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency rating at AA (high) with a Stable trend on April 16, 2021. SFIL’s ratings reflect its statutory ownership by Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), which is entirely owned by the Republic of France and the letter of comfort they provide to support SFIL’s creditworthiness in addition to the letter of comfort provided by the Republic of France. As a result, DBRS Morningstar’s support assessment for SFIL is SA1.

RATING DRIVERS
An upgrade of the Republic of France´s ratings would lead to an upgrade of SFIL´s ratings.

Similarly, a downgrade of the Republic of France´s ratings would lead to a downgrade of SFIL´s ratings. The Long-Term and the Short-Term Ratings’ Trends move in line with the Ratings’ Trends of the Republic of France. Any indication of the weakening of the efficiency and timeliness of the support mechanisms between SFIL, CDC and the French State could also lead to a downgrade of SFIL’s ratings.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS
SFIL´s ESG drivers mirror those of the Republic of France given the SA1 and the links between SFIL, CDC and the French State.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework and its methodologies can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357792.

Notes:
All figures are in EUR unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is the Global Methodology for Rating Banks and Banking Organisations (June 8, 2020). https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/362170/global-methodology-for-rating-banks-and-banking-organisations
Other applicable methodologies include the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings (February 3, 2021) https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262/dbrs-morningstar-criteria-approach-to-environmental-social-and-governance-risk-factors-in-credit-ratings

For more information regarding rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357883

The sources of information used for this rating include SFIL 2020 Annual Report, SFIL 2020 Presentation, Company Documents and S&P Global Market Intelligence. DBRS Morningstar considers the information available to it for the purposes of providing this rating to be of satisfactory quality.

DBRS Morningstar does not audit the information it receives in connection with the rating process, and it does not and cannot independently verify that information in every instance.

Generally, the conditions that lead to the assignment of a Negative or Positive trend are resolved within a 12-month period. DBRS Morningstar's outlooks and ratings are under regular surveillance.

For further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see: http://cerep.esma.europa.eu/cerep-web/statistics/defaults.xhtml. DBRS Morningstar understands further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates may be published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on its webpage: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/credit-rating-agencies.

The sensitivity analysis of the relevant key rating assumptions can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/377319

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the United Kingdom.

Lead Analyst: Arnaud Journois, Vice President – Global Financial Institutions Group
Rating Committee Chair: Elisabeth Rudman, Managing Director, Head of European FIG - Global FIG
Initial Rating Date: September 10, 2018
Last Rating Date: February 1, 2021

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For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com.