June 4 (Bloomberg) -- BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA said they have adequate capital after a Fitch Ratings presentation indicated France's largest banks may need to raise more money.

``We don't understand the interpretation made of Fitch's presentation,'' spokeswoman Celine Castex wrote in an e-mail today from BNP Paribas, France's largest bank. Fitch said in an April 11 report that BNP Paribas's Tier 1 ratio, a measure of capital strength, was ``satisfactory,'' Castex said. ``Fitch confirmed to us today that their opinion had not changed.''

BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Barclays Plc fell in European trading after Krishnan Ramadurai, a managing director at Fitch's financial institutions group, said at a conference in Tokyo that they may need to raise more capital as their finances weaken. The banks ``all have stable rating outlooks,'' Fitch said in a statement later in the day.

``Speaking at a conference in Tokyo today, Fitch highlighted the relative capital levels of several major European banks at the end of 2007 and pointed to the increasing trend for banks to raise capital in the current market conditions,'' Fitch said in the statement.

Ramadurai presented slides indicating that core Tier 1 capital ratios were 5.7 percent at BNP Paribas at the end of 2007, 5.3 percent at Societe Generale and 5 percent at Barclays.

`Strong Capital'

Societe Generale, France's second-biggest bank, has ``strong capital ratios,'' Societe Generale's Stephanie Carson-Parker said. Societe Generale said it lifted its core Tier 1 ratio to 6.8 percent at the end of March.

Alistair Smith, spokesman at London-based Barclays, declined to comment.

BNP Paribas and Societe Generale are ``highly unlikely'' to have to raise capital, London-based JPMorgan analysts led by Kian Abouhossein said in a note today.

Societe Generale, France's second-biggest bank, raised 5.5 billion euros ($8.5 billion) in March in a rights offering to replenish capital after unauthorized trading by former employee Jerome Kerviel led to 4.9 billion euros in losses. BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank, reported 514 million euros of writedowns on assets at its investment bank in the first quarter and said May 14 it doesn't need to raise capital.

BNP's Tier 1 capital was 7.6 percent at the end of March, up from 7.3 percent at end of 2006, Castex said. Core Tier 1 capital, which excludes fixed-income assets including bonds, was 5.7 percent at the end of March.

Options

Barclays, the U.K.'s fourth-largest bank, may need to raise about 6 billion pounds ($11.7 billion) to increase its capital ratio as profit falls on slower securities revenue and rising customer defaults, Citigroup Inc. analysts said last month. Barclays said May 15 it has a number of options and hasn't ruled out a rights offer.

Barclays fell 2.3 percent to 352 pence in London. Societe Generale dropped 1.7 percent to 63.64 euros and BNP Paribas declined 0.8 percent to 63.87 euros.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Livesey at blivesey@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: June 4, 2008 13:28 EDT