The Volkswagen scandal may affect car loan securitisations by dragging down used car values, Fitch Ratings says. This is because motor vehicle ABS transactions are exposed to used car values either directly through residual value or indirectly via recovery proceeds from the sale of the car when a borrower or lessee defaults.  However, long-lasting and direct impact is unlikely, Fitch suggests. There 25 VW originated transactions globally rated by Fitch; and of these only five are exposed to residual value risk. And, unless the VW brand is permanently damaged, the price impact is expected to be largely limited to the affected vehicles. Also, VW can be expected to cover any residual resale exposure by ABS investors, Fitch said. French bank Societe Generale is considering a plan to close up to 20 per cent of its branches, Bloomberg reports. The bank has closed 40 branches so far this year but the new proposal, which was revealed by the Force Ouvriere union, involves 400 more branches. The bank is under pressure to cut its costs and its customers are doing more of their banking online. French bank branch numbers have fallen by three per cent since 2010. Fresh from successfully flipping the UK-based SME bank Aldermore via IPO to earn a very tidy profit for its investors, the specialist European financial services private equity firm AnaCap has been cleared to acquire Poland's FM Bank. The Polish retail and SME bank runs as two brands, Bank SMART and BIZ Bank, and will be the fifth bank in AnaCap's portfolio. The purchase price has not been disclosed.