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S&P Cuts Ratings On Western Banking Groups, Smiles On China
Tom Burroughes
30 November 2011
Standard & Poor’s has cut the long-term credit ratings on Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to A- from A, along with a similar reduction to Morgan Stanley and Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit. JP Morgan, which like the other banks operates in the wealth management space, was reduced one level to A from A+. By contrast, the fortunes of Asia-based banks improved, as the rating agency upgraded Bank of China and China Construction Bank to A from A- and maintained the A rating on Industrial & Commercial Bank of China. S&P has also cut ratings on UBS and Barclays to A from A+, and HSBC to A+ from AA-.