Moody’s Weighs Rating Cuts for Major Banks

By JULIA WERDIGIER
February 16, 2012, 6:21 am

Shannon Stapleton/ReutersMoody’s Investors Service indicated it could cut Morgan Stanley’s credit ratings by as much as three levels.

LONDON — Moody’s Investors Service has put Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, UBS and more than 100 other financial institutions on notice.
Citing increasingly challenging market conditions, the credit rating agency said it would review its grades for 114 banks based across Europe, as well as eight other financial institutions based elsewhere, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Nomura.
Moody’s indicated it could cut some credit ratings by as much as three levels as it weighed the risks to the banks’ investment banking models and large capital market exposures.

“The combination of changed operating conditions and increased regulatory requirements and restrictions has diminished these firms’ longer-term profitability and growth prospects,” Moody’s said in the statement, which was released on Wednesday after markets closed in New York.
In a separate statement from London, Moody’s said it was reviewing its ratings for banks based in European countries, including Italy, Spain and Britain. It cited the prolonged euro crisis, concerns about government debt and risks linked to large capital market businesses as reasons.

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