Moody's today downgraded the long-term rating of five Danish banks, including the country's largest, Danske Bank, after the bankruptcy last week of the Amagerbanken regional bank. Danske Bank owns National Irish Bank here.
The ratings agency downgraded Danske Bank, Spar Nord Bank, FIF Erhversbank, Ringjoebing Landbobank et BankNordik, it said in a statement. It also said it may further bring down the ratings Danske Bank, FIF Erhversbankn et BankNordik.
'These actions follow the bankruptcy and transfer of Amagerbanken to a government-backed entity,' the ratings agency said.
It pointed out that the Danish government's decision to allow the country's eighth largest bank to fail on February 6 before taking it over demonstrated Copenhagen's 'willingness and ability to impose losses on depositors and senior creditors in a bankruptcy.'
On October 1, 2010, an unlimited state-backed bank guarantee put in place at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008 came to an end, and bank accounts are currently only guaranteed up to 750,000 kroner (around €100,000), with that entire amount covered by the banking sector.