Some of the biggest banks in the eurozone were told they may have credit ratings cut by Standard & Poor’s as the agency carried out a review of 15 countries across Europe.

Some of the biggest banks in the eurozone were told they may have their credit ratings cut by Standard & Poor’s as the agency carried out a review of 15 countries across Europe.

Banks such as Germany’s Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank were put on CreditWatch negative; BNP Paribas was also placed on the list.

S&P has already warned this week that Germany and France, the two biggest economies in the troubled eurozone, may lose their top credit ratings. The agency yesterday put the eurozone’s AAA rating on CreditWatch negative, according to a statement.

Other major banks under a threat of ratings cut are UniCredit, the Italian bank and Société Générale. Several of these firms – such as SocGen, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank – have wealth management businesses. The issue of credit rating strength is important for high and ultra HNW clients of such banks who might be concerned about the safety of their own money. In recent years, banks with a AAA or equivalent rating have been keen to stress this point as part of their marketing.

When S&P threatened to cut the eurozone’s rating outlook this week, it cited its “belief that systemic stresses in the eurozone have risen in recent weeks to the extent that they now put downward pressure on the credit standing of the eurozone as a whole”.

EU leaders are meeting this week to try and resolve the debt crisis in the eurozone, which has been cited by wealth management strategists as the biggest source of global economic uncertainty.