Alsof de waarschuwing van S&P aan het adres van 15 Europese landen nog niet voldoende was, waarschuwt het ratingbureau vandaag ook voor de AAA rating van de Europese Unie! Via S&P: —

• On Dec. 5, 2011, Standard & Poor’s placed the ratings on 15 of the 17 member states of the European Monetary and Economic Union (EMU or eurozone) governments on CreditWatch with negative implications. As a result, the ratings on 17 European Union (EU) member states are now on CreditWatch with negative implications.
• We are therefore also placing the ‘AAA’ long-term rating on the EU on CreditWatch negative. At the same time, we are affirming the ‘A-1+’ short-term rating on the EU.
• The CreditWatch placement on the eurozone member states was prompted by our concerns about the potential impact on these member states of what we view as deepening political, financial, and monetary problems within the eurozone.
• Eurozone members directly contribute approximately 62% of the EU’s total 2011 budgeted revenues. Our CreditWatch review will focus on the financial ability of eurozone member states to support the EU’s debt service should the institution face a period of financial distress.
• We expect to conclude our review as soon as possible after the European summit on Dec. 9, 2011. Depending on the outcome of our review of the ratings on eurozone member governments, we could lower the long-term rating on the EU by one notch, if any.

Daarenboven wordt de creditwatch voor 35 Europese banken, waaonder BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, … op negatief geplaatst! De ravage door S&P is compleet, maar de markten komen amper van hun plek door de berichten.