TEXT-S&P: Miss. Development Bank rating unaffected by counterparty

Feb 7 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that the Jan.
23, 2012 downgrade of Societe Generale (SocGen; A/Stable/A-1) does not affect
the rating or outlook on Mississippi Development Bank's (MDB) series 2005 bonds
(A/Stable/A-1) as they have the same rating. (See "Societe Generale And Core
Subsidiaries Long-Term Ratings Lowered To 'A' Following Sovereign Action;
Outlook Stable," published Jan. 23, 2012 on RatingsDirect on the Global Credit
Portal.) The downgrade of SocGen followed our rating action on France. (See
"France's Unsolicited Long-Term Ratings Lowered to 'AA+'; Outlook Negative,"
published on Jan. 13, 2012.) The rating on MDB is currently tied to the
long-term credit rating of BP Corp. North America Inc. (BPNA; A/Stable/A-1).
BPNA guarantees the obligations of BP
Energy Co. (not rated), MDB's gas supplier. Standard & Poor's could lower the
rating on MDB's series 2005 bonds if we lower the rating on BPNA or if one of
the other counterparties in the transaction becomes the primary ratings
constraint.

Bondholders rely on SocGen as both the commodity swap provider and interest
rate swap provider. Bondholders rely on payments from the debt service and
liquidity reserves if a municipal participant defaults, and on the reserves as
well as payments from the gas supplier to fund any required early termination
payments. SocGen also provides a standby bond purchase agreement. This
agreement provides additional liquidity because SocGen has agreed to
repurchase the bonds if the variable interest rate changes from the initial
daily rate mode and bondholders exercise their put option.

Primary Credit Analyst: Manish Consul, New York (1) 212-438-3870;
manish_consul@standardandpoors.com
Secondary Contact: Mark Habib, New York (1) 212-438-6344;
mark_habib@standardandpoors.com