MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fitch downgrades the credit rating of the world’s six largest banks

“Particularly sensitive to the increased challenges the financial markets face”

Fitch announced on Thursday it has downgraded the credit rating of six of the world’s largest banks. The banks include US’ Bank of America, British Barclays, and France’s BNP Paribas.

The rating agency stated that the downgrades “reflected challenges faced by the sector as a whole, rather than negative developments in idiosyncratic fundamental creditworthiness.”

Fitch added that these banks “are particularly sensitive to the increased challenges the financial markets face.”

Bank of America, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS were cut to “A.” BNP Paribas and Société Générale are a step higher in “A+.”

Likewise on Wednesday Standard and Poor’s rating agency downgraded the credit rating of ten Spaniard banks, Bankia, CaixaBank, Banco Popular, Banco Sabadell and Bankinter among them.

The agency reported that the cut has been applied as a consequence of the update of the measuring criteria and the revision of Spain’s rating.

After the announcement, CaixaBank is one of the ten banks that have the best rating, because its long term debt was qualified as A.

Two steps lower, downgraded to BBB+ are Bankia, Banco Popular, Bankinter, BBK, Kutxa, Ibercaja and La Caixa.

Banco Sabadell, in the midst of the merge with CAM, was downgraded to BBB, and the Banco Financiero y de Ahorros turn to the “junk bond” category.