Fitch Ratings : La notation des SAC dépend de la solidarité entre les membres

information fournie par Reuters •08/10/2020 à 14:07

(The following statement was released by the rating agency) Fitch Ratings-Paris-08 October 2020: Fitch considère que les sociétés anonymes de coordination (SAC) peuvent faire l’objet d’une notation financière et émettre sur les marchés, mais que la question de la solidarité financière entre leurs associés est un élément clé pour la notation qui doit être apprécié au cas par cas. La SAC, statut juridique introduit par l’article 81 de la loi Elan du 23 novembre 2018, est un organisme d’habitation à loyer modéré régie par le code de la construction et de l’habitation (CCH). Il s’agit d’une société anonyme régie par le droit commercial. Ce nouveau statut juridique a été créé afin de faciliter les regroupements d’organismes de logement social (OLS) dans le contexte de rationalisation du secteur voulu par la loi ELAN tout en permettant, au contraire de la fusion, à chaque organisme membre de conserver sa personnalité juridique et ses prérogatives. Il doit notamment permettre de rapprocher des OLS aux statuts différents tels que des ESH (sociétés de droits commercial) et des OPH (sociétés de droit public), son capital pouvant être détenu par tout type d’organisme de logement social. La SAC constitue donc la tête d’un groupe inversé, son capital étant détenu par ses membres, les associés, à l’instar de certains groupes bancaires coopératifs. A l’inverse d’une société holding, la SAC a un contrôle limité sur les associés : elle ne dispose en effet que d’une voix consultative au sein de leurs conseils d’administration. Ses prérogatives incluent notamment l’élaboration du cadre stratégique patrimonial et du cadre stratégique d’utilité sociale, la mise en place d’une politique d’achat des biens et services (hors investissements immobiliers), la mise à disposition des ressources disponibles (prêts, avances, etc.) afin d’accroître la capacité d’investissement des associés ainsi que l’appel des cotisations nécessaires à l’accomplissement de ses missions.

En tant que société anonyme de droit commercial, la SAC peut émettre sur les marchés afin de financer ses associés via des prêts intra-groupes et des avances, facilitant notamment ainsi aux OPH l’accès aux marchés de capitaux. En tant qu’OLS de droit commercial, Fitch noterait, a priori, une SAC de la même façon qu’une ESH avec un profil de crédit intrinsèque (PCI), reflet de sa capacité à honorer le service de sa dette sur la base de ses flux de trésorerie propres, rehaussé d’un ou deux crans, reflet du soutien public important au secteur du logement social. Fitch peut assigner un PCI sur la base des comptes combinés de la SAC ou sur la base des comptes individuels des associés. La première option suppose une très forte solidarité entre les associés ou une parfaite fongibilité de leur trésorerie afin que la SAC puisse assurer le service de sa dette. Cela peut par exemple prendre la forme de garanties croisées entre les associés et la mise en place d’une trésorerie commune librement accessible par la SAC. Si, au contraire, Fitch considère que le degré de solidarité est insuffisant et que, in fine, chaque associé n’est responsable qu’à hauteur de la part de dette qui lui a été allouée par la SAC ou à hauteur de leur part en capital, alors il est probable que Fitch considèrerait que le PCI de la SAC ne pourrait être supérieur au plus faible des associés. La loi ELAN précise que la SAC peut « prendre les mesures nécessaires pour garantir la soutenabilité financière du groupe ainsi que de chacun des organismes qui le constituent » en interdisant un investissement ou en décidant de la cession du patrimoine de l’associé en difficulté « après avoir au préalable consulté les organes dirigeants de l’organisme concerné ». Fitch considère toutefois que, si cet article donne un rôle important à la SAC, il n’assure pas une solidarité suffisante entre les membres pour assurer le service de la dette au niveau de la SAC. Fitch comprend que ce point devrait être éclairci au cas par cas dans les statuts et les « pactes d’associés » de chaque SAC. Contact: Nicolas Miloikovitch, CFA Associate Director +33 1 44 29 91 89 Fitch France S.A. 60 rue de Monceau 75008 Paris Pierre Charpentier Associate Director +33 1 44 29 91 45

Contacts presse: Athos Larkou, London, Tel: +44 20 3530 1549, Email: athos.larkou@thefitchgroup.com

The above article originally appeared as a post on the Fitch Wire credit market commentary page. The original article can be accessed at www.fitchratings.com. All opinions expressed are those of Fitch Ratings.

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