Moody's Takes Citigroup, BofA, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley A Notch
Plus a subsidiary of State Street, which apparently had gotten a pass for too long.
Moody’s Investors Service cut its ratings on four of the biggest U.S. banks after deciding the government would be less likely to help them repay creditors in a crisis. Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. had their senior holding company ratings lowered one level yesterday after Moody’s concluded a review of eight U.S. banks that began in August. Spokesmen for the four companies declined to comment...Bank of New York was cut to A1 from Aa3, and Goldman Sachs was lowered to Baa1 from A3, Moody’s said. JPMorgan was cut to A3 from A2, and Morgan Stanley was downgraded to Baa2 from Baa1. Subordinated debt ratings were also lowered for BNY Mellon, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley. Citigroup’s Citibank NA subsidiary had its long-term deposits upgraded to A2 from A3 and short-term rating lifted to Prime-1. Bank of America’s long-term deposit rating was raised to A2 from A3 and its short-term rating was upgraded to Prime-1. State Street’s State Street Bank & Trust Co. subsidiary had its long-term deposit rating and subordinated debt downgraded.
