Agence Francaise de Developpement -- Moody's downgrades CDC, OSEO and AFD to Aa1, negative; outlook changed to negative on Credit Mutuel group entities

Paris, November 20, 2012 -- Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded to Aa1 (negative), from Aaa (negative), the long-term issuer, bank deposit and senior unsecured ratings of Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) and OSEO. Their Prime-1 short-term ratings are unaffected.

Moody's has also downgraded to Aa1 (negative), from Aaa (negative), Agence Française de Developpement (AFD)'s backed senior unsecured debt rating which is guaranteed by the French government.

At the same time, Moody's has also revised to negative from stable the outlook on the long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings of Banque Federative du Credit Mutuel (BFCM), Credit Industriel et Commercial (CIC) and Credit Mutuel Arkea. Other ratings and corresponding outlooks for BFCM, CIC and Credit Mutuel Arkea are unaffected by today's announcement. The ratings and outlooks for other French banks rated by Moody's are unaffected by today's action.

Today's actions were prompted by the weakening of the French government's credit profile, as captured by Moody's recent downgrade of France's government bond rating to Aa1 (negative) from Aaa (negative). For more details, please refer to Moody's press release: http://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-downgrades-Frances-government-bond-rating-to-Aa1-from-Aaa--PR_260071.

The ratings of instruments that benefit from the guarantee from the aforementioned issuers are also affected. Please click on this link http://www.moodys.com/viewresearchdoc.aspx?docid=PBC_147552 for the List of Affected Credit Ratings. This list is an integral part of this press release and identifies each affected issuer.

For additional information on bank ratings, please refer to the webpage containing Moody's related announcements http://www.moodys.com/bankratings2012.

RATINGS RATIONALE

GOVERNMENT RELATED INSTITUTIONS' (GRIs) RATINGS AND GUARANTEED DEBT RATINGS

--- CAISSE DES DEPOTS ET CONSIGNATIONS AND OSEO

The downgrade to Aa1 (negative outlook), from Aaa (negative), of the long-term issuer, deposit and senior unsecured ratings for CDC, of the issuer rating for OSEO and its fully guaranteed subsidiary OSEO S.A. reflects the weakened credit profile of the government of France.

From a credit-risk profile perspective Moody's considers CDC and OSEO to be intrinsically tied to the French state through their operational and financial ties with the government. As such, CDC's deposit and senior debt ratings and OSEO's issuer rating derive from the application of a credit-substitution approach, whereby their ratings are aligned with those of the French government.

--- BACKED RATINGS OF CAISSE AUTONOME DE REFINANCEMENT

Moody's says that the backed senior unsecured rating for Caisse Autonome de Refinancement (CAR) is based on the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee from CDC. The downgrade of its backed senior unsecured ratings to Aa1 (negative), from Aaa (negative), therefore reflects the actions on CDC's senior unsecured rating.

--- BACKED RATINGS OF DEBT ISSUED BY CDC IXIS, IXIS CIB AND NATIXIS STRUCTURED PRODUCTS LIMITED

Moody's says that the debt instruments issued by CDC IXIS, IXIS CIB and Natixis Structured Products Limited -- and which benefit from the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee from CDC -- are also affected by today's action. The downgrade to Aa1 (negative), from Aaa (negative) of the backed ratings reflects the action on CDC's senior unsecured ratings.

--- BACKED RATINGS OF AGENCE FRANCAISE DE DEVELOPPEMENT

AFD's backed senior unsecured rating is based on the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee from the French government. The downgrade of AFD's backed senior unsecured rating to Aa1 (negative), from Aaa (negative), reflects the similar action on the French government's ratings.

BANQUE FEDERATIVE DU CREDIT MUTUEL, CREDIT INDUSTRIEL ET COMMERCIAL AND CREDIT MUTUEL ARKEA

Moody's affirmed the Aa3 long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings of BFCM, CIC and Credit Mutuel Arkea, and revised the outlooks to negative from stable. This reflects Moody's view that if France's financial strength deteriorates further, the benefit to the banks' senior unsecured creditors -- from potential systemic support to the Credit Mutuel group -- may diminish. As such, the outlook reflects the negative outlook on the sovereign rating.

OTHER FRENCH BANKS UNAFFECTED BY TODAY'S ACTION

Moody's says that the ratings and outlooks for other French banks are unaffected by today's rating action. These institutions have lower standalone credit assessments -- taking into account cooperative support -- and senior ratings than BFCM, CIC and Credit Mutuel Arkea. As such, their long-term ratings are less sensitive to the change in creditworthiness of the government of France, according to our framework for determining potential systemic support under Moody's Consolidated Global Bank Rating Methodology.

WHAT COULD MOVE THE RATINGS UP/DOWN

There is no upwards ratings pressure on the ratings, as indicated by the negative outlooks.

The senior unsecured ratings for CDC and OSEO, as well as the guaranteed debt issued by OSEO SA, CAR, AFD, CDC IXIS and IXIS CIB and Natixis Structured Products would move in tandem with the rating of the French government.

BFCM's, CIC's and Credit Mutuel Arkea's long-term deposit and debt ratings could come under further negative pressure from any of the following (1) deterioration of their standalone creditworthiness; (2) a weakening of Credit Mutuel group's credit profile, or a weakening of the probability of support from that group; or (3) Moody's downwards adjustment of its currently very high expectations of systemic support for the group which would be re-assessed in case of any further deterioration of the French government's creditworthiness.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGIES

The methodologies used in these ratings were Moody's Consolidated Global Bank Rating Methodology published in June 2012 and Government-Related Issuers: Methodology Update published in July 2010. Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these methodologies.

REGULATORY DISCLOSURES

Please click on this link http://www.moodys.com/viewresearchdoc.aspx?docid=PBC_147552 for the List of Affected Credit Ratings. This list is an integral part of this Press Release and provides, for each of the credit ratings covered, Moody's disclosures on the following items:

o Releasing office

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 ratings of rated entity Agence Francaise de Developpement was initiated by Moody's and was not requested by the rated entity.

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Stephane HerndlAsst Vice President - 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 (C) 2012 Moody's Investors Service, Inc. and/or its licensors and affiliates (collectively, "MOODY'S"). All rights reserved.

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