Moody's downgrade threat to 100+ EU financials

Ratings agency Moody's has warned it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global banks and 114 European financial institutions as strains on the financial system increase.

Banks that may be downgraded by two notches include Barclays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Goldman Sachs, the ratings agency said. Ratings for UBS, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley may be cut as much as three notches. "Capital markets firms are confronting evolving challenges, such as more fragile funding conditions, wider credit spreads, increased regulatory burdens and more difficult operating conditions," Moody's said in a statement. On European institutions, the 114 downgrade warnings encompassed 24 financials in Italy and 21 in Spain, among others, citing the effects of t...