Research Update: French-Based La Banque Postale 'A/A-1' Ratings Affirmed On Government Support And ALAC Review; Outlook Stable

We believe the prospect of extraordinary government support for French banks is now uncertain in view of France's well-advanced and effective resolution regime. This does not affect our assessment of La Banque Postale because we previously had not included any uplift for extraordinary government support in our counterparty credit ratings on the bank. We continue to apply to the long-term rating on La Banque Postale two notches of uplift for group support to reflect our view of La Banque Postale as a core entity of the La Poste group. We consider that La Banque Postale is unlikely to increase its additional loss-absorbing capacity (ALAC) by end-2018 above a threshold that would be commensurate under our criteria for one or two

Research Update