Fitch rates Societe Generale notes BB

Fitch Ratings said it assigned an expected BB rating to Societe Generale's potential issue of undated deeply subordinated securities with a potential call feature beyond the fifth year.

The notes are tier 1 instruments with fully discretionary coupon payments and are subject to write-down on breach of a consolidated 5.125% common equity tier 1 ratio, Fitch said.

The securities are rated five notches below Societe Generale's A- viability rating in accordance with the agency's criteria. The notes are notched twice for loss severity to reflect the write-down on breach of the trigger, Fitch said, and three times for non-performance risk.

The notching for non-performance risk reflects the instruments' fully discretionary coupons, which Fitch said it considers the most easily activated form of loss absorption.

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