Moody’s Cuts Rating on Four Banking Behemoths

Moody’s Cuts Rating on Four Banking Behemoths (Bloomberg)

After a four-month study involving eight of the biggest names in global finance, Moody’s Investors Service has cut the credit ratings of four holding companies for the biggest banks in the United States. Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp all had the ratings for their senior holding companies reduce by one level. The ratings were cut as part of an overall effort to ensure these banks would never again require public funding to deal with a potential failure among their ranks. The four holding companies that did not have their credit ratings cut were Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup Inc. (C), State Street Corp. (STT) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC). Investors in the U.S. banks affected by Moody’s announcement haven’t incurred an enormous drop in value, but the long-term ramifications have yet to be seen.