This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jun/06/moodys-downgrades-german-banks-credit

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Moody's downgrades handful of German bank credit ratings Moody's downgrades handful of German bank credit ratings
(40 minutes later)
Moody's cut the credit ratings of several German banks on Wednesday, citing increased risk of further shocks emanating from the eurozone debt crisis and their limited loss-absorption capacity. Moody's has cut the credit ratings of six German banking groups and Austria's three-largest banks as of Wednesday, saying they face risks if the eurozone crisis deepens.
"As a result the long-term debt and deposit ratings for six groups and one German subsidiary of a foreign group have declined by one notch, while the ratings for one group were confirmed," it said. The downgrades are part of a broad review of banks in the region that has had investors on edge but were mild when compared to cuts for banks in weaker economies such as Spain and Italy.
The banks included the New York and Paris branches of Commerzbank, Germany's second-largest lender. Commerzbank US Finance Inc, Dresdner Bank AG, its New York branch as well as Dresdner Finance BV, also had their ratings cut. Moody's said German lenders face risks to the quality of their assets if the euro zone crisis deepens or the global economy slows more, but also noted the relative strength of the German and Austrian economies.
Moody's said that further to these actions it had assigned stable outlooks to the ratings of most German banks.
/>
/>Moody's said the continuing rating review for Deutsche Bank AG and its subsidiaries would be concluded together with the reviews for other global firms with large capital markets operations. 		Commerzbank AG, Germany's second-largest lender, saw its long-term rating cut by one notch to A3 from A2 and assigned a negative outlook.
It said several factors had caused the ratings of many German banks to decline by less than for other European banks, including below-average unemployment, low household and corporate debt levels and the general resilience of the German economy. Other German banks Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg and Norddeutsche Landesbank GZ were lowered to A3 from A2 and given stable outlooks while Italy's Unicredit saw its German unit cut to A3 from A2 and given a negative outlook.
The agency delayed action on Deutsche Bank AG and its subsidiaries, saying that will come with reviews for other global firms with large capital markets operations.
In Austria, Moody's cut the long-term rating for Erste Group Bank AG by two notches to A3 from A1 and assigned a negative outlook while UniCredit Bank Austria AG was cut to A3 from A2, also with a negative outlook. Raiffeisen Bank International AG was cut to A2 from A1 and assigned a stable outlook.
For the Austrian banks Moody's noted vulnerabilities from operating conditions in central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It noted limited loss-absorption capacities for both the German and Austrian banks.
Moody's said on 13 April it would begin issuing conclusions to various reviews for European banks and global financial securities firms, including big US investment banks. This process was to begin in mid-May and conclude by the end of June.