The agency Moody's downgrades 15 major Western banks active on world markets, including the American Bank of America and Citigroup, and the French Bnp Paribas, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale. Moody's decision comes at the end of an examination that began in mid-February. They have been downgraded five American, three French, two Swiss, three British, one Canadian and one German banks.
Those hardest hit are the American Bank of America and Citigroup, whose notes have been downgraded to “Baa2”, and are positioned two steps away from the "speculative" category. In a statement, Citigroup expressed its "strong disagreement with Moody's analysis of the banking industry", stating that it considers its downgrade "arbitrary and unjustified".
The downgraded banks are: Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bnp Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Société Générale and ubs.
