Moody’s zet door in zijn aanhoudende reeks van downgrades van zowel overheden als financiële instellingen. Vanavond was het de beurt aan de Italiaanse banksector, waar het ratingbureau voor maar liefst 26 banken een kredietverlaging doorvoerde.

Moody’s downgrades Italian banks; outlooks remain negative Milan, May 14, 2012 — Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded by one to four notches the long-term debt and deposit ratings for 26 Italian banks, including five banks that are part of larger groups. In almost all cases, the rating actions reflect concurrent downgrades of these banks’ standalone credit assessments, rather than changes in Moody’s assumptions about levels of third party support, including Government support. The debt and deposit ratings declined by one notch for 10 banks, two notches for eight banks, three notches for six banks, and four notches for two banks. The short-term ratings for 21 banks have also been downgraded by one to two notches, triggered by the long-term rating downgrades. The rating outlooks for all affected entities are negative; a Moody’s rating outlook is an opinion regarding the likely direction of an issuer’s rating over the medium term. Furthermore, Moody’s changed the rating outlooks for the standalone BFSR of five Italian banks to negative from stable. The debt and deposit ratings for nine more Italian banks remain on review for further downgrade, for reasons specific to each bank.