Wednesday, November 30, 2011

S&P downgrades Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, BofA, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Barclays, and UBS

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11/29/11, "S&P downgrades credit rating of major banks," BBC

"Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded the long-term credit grades of a string of major financial firms.

Wall Street titans Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, along with Barclays, HSBC, and some firms in Germany and France were affected.

Downgrades can increase banks' borrowing costs and put further pressure on their shaky finances....

S&P said its move reflects new criteria for banks, based on changes in market trends and government support.

Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup had long-term ratings downgraded to A- from A.

Morgan Stanley, Barclays, HSBC, Commerzbank, and UBS also had ratings cut by one notch, according to S&P's statement.

S&P's move hit the shares of US banks in after-hours trading on Wall Street, with Goldman Sachs down 1% Morgan Stanley down 1.7%.

Ratings for several big European banks, including Credit Suisse, Deutsche, ING and Societe Generale were unchanged."...


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