Moody's downgrades 15 major banks

Credit rating agency Moody's has downgraded 15 financial institutions overnight, including major UK and US banks.

The Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC were among the UK names on the list, while US investment banks Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan had their credit ratings cut. Moody's said the 15 banks affected by the rating actions have significant exposure to volatility in capital markets, which have led many to fail or avoid it only through third party support. "All of the banks affected by today's actions have significant exposure to the volatility and risk of outsized losses inherent to capital markets activities", says Moody's global banking managing directo...