Standard & Poor’s on Monday cut the ratings of several French banks with related covered bond issuers after downgrading France from AAA to AA+ and a review of France’s banking industry country risk assessment (BICRA).

S&P downgraded BPCE, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale from A+ to A. BPCE subsidiary Credit Foncier de France was also lowered by S&P, from A to A-, although covered bonds issued by Compagnie de Financement Foncier have been affirmed.

The BICRA of group 2 for France was unaffected by the lowering of the long term rating on France, S&P decided after a review.

The rating agency said the downgrades followed the lowering of France from AAA to AA+, and that they factor in the relationship between “systemically important” banks to sovereign ratings under its criteria, as well as S&P’s assessment of the banks’ stand-alone credit profile (SACPs).

BPCE, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale’s SACPs were assessed at “a-” by the rating agency and the banks are considered systemically important. The number of government notches that S&P factors into the issuer rating of a systemically important bank with an SACP of a- is one notch when the sovereign rating is AA+, instead of two notches when it is rated AAA.

BNP Paribas and Credit Logement were affirmed at AA- by S&P. The ratings of the two also incorporate one notch for extraordinary government support, but on the top of an SACP that the rating agency assesses at A+.

At AAA, Compagnie de Financement Foncier’s covered bond programme is six notches above the issuer rating and according to S&P it can achieve up to seven notches under the rating agency’s methodology, so remains unchanged.