Fitch Rates American Express' Preferred Share Issuance 'BBB-'

(The following statement was released by the rating agency) NEW YORK, November 10 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned a rating of 'BBB-' to the $750 million in preferred stock issued by American Express Company (AXP, rated 'A+/F1' by Fitch). This preferred issuance represents approximately 1% of AXP's total risk-weighted assets at Sept. 30, 2014. AXP had previously stated that it would issue preferred shares for Basel III capital planning purposes. More specifically, the new Tier 1 ratio requirement under Basel III is 150 basis points higher than the current common equity Tier 1 ratio and regulators have started using the new minimums to assess capital adequacy in the CCAR process. Fitch believes AXP's strategy is consistent with other large financial institutions which have included preferred stock in their non-common Tier 1 capital structures. KEY RATING DRIVERS - Preferred Shares AXP's preferred stock rating is five notches below the entity's Viability Rating (VR) of 'a+' in accordance with Fitch's assessment of each instrument's respective non-performance and relative loss severity risk profile. The preferred stock rating includes two notches for loss severity given these securities deep subordination in the capital structure, and three notches for non-performance given that the coupon of the securities is non-cumulative and fully discretionary. Fitch has accorded these preferred securities equity credit of 50%, which is in line with its methodology in assessing and rating bank subordinated and hybrid securities. RATING SENSITIVITIES - Preferred Shares The preferred stock ratings are directly linked to AXP's VR and would move in tandem with any changes in AXP's credit profile. Contact: Primary Analyst Brendan Sheehy Director +1-212-908-9138 Fitch Ratings, Inc. 33 Whitehall Street New York, NY 10004 Secondary Analyst Meghan Neenan, CFA Senior Director +1-212-908-9121 Committee Chairperson Nathan Flanders Managing Director +1-212-908-0827 Media Relations: Brian Bertsch, New York, Tel: +1 212-908-0549, Email: brian.bertsch@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com. Applicable Criteria and Related Research: --'Assessing and Rating Bank Subordinated and Hybrid Securities Criteria' (January 2014) --'Global Financial Institutions Rating Criteria' (January 2014); --'Finance and Leasing Companies Criteria' (December 2012); --'U.S. Bank HoldCos & OpCos: Evolving Risk Profiles' (March 2014); --'FinCo Deposit Sensitivity to Rising Rates' (January 2014); --'Nonbank Financial Institution Interest Rate Sensitivity' (January 2014); --'3Q13 U.S. Bank Capital Ratios' (December 2013); --'2014 Outlook: U.S. Finance and Leasing Companies' (November 2013); --'Fitch Fundamentals Index - U.S.' (October 2013). Applicable Criteria and Related Research: Fitch Fundamentals Index - U.S. (3Q14) here 2014 Outlook: U.S. Finance and Leasing Companies (Strong Fundamentals, But Sector Headwinds Persist) here 3Q13 U.S. Bank Capital Ratios here Nonbank Financial Institution Interest Rate Sensitivity here FinCo Deposit Sensitivity to Rising Rates here Finance and Leasing Companies Criteria here Assessing and Rating Bank Subordinated and Hybrid Securities Criteria here U.S. Bank HoldCos & OpCos: Evolving Risk Profiles here Additional Disclosure Solicitation Status here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.