Latest S&P down-grading...what does this mean for the foreign banks?

machu said:

Hi Ciaran,

is there a reliable website that gives the ratings of all the major banks

thanks in advance

machu

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Today, it said it was lowering AIB and Bank of Ireland's rating from A- to BBB. Fitch said their previous ratings reflected the support given to the banks by the State, but it now believed the level of support the State could provide had diminished.
Fitch has left the ratings of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide unchanged, but they remain on 'ratings watch negative', which means they face a future downgrade. EBS has also been moved to 'ratings watch negative', as Fitch believes it is now unlikely to be bought by an institution with a higher credit rating.

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Moody's Investors Service cut its ratings on several major Irish banks days after it slashed its ratings on the European nation itself by five notches.

The ratings firm downgraded various ratings of Allied Irish Banks, the Bank of Ireland, EBS Building Society, Irish Life & Permanent, Irish Nationwide Building Society, ICS Building Society and Anglo Irish Bank.

Moody's on Friday downgraded Ireland's debt to Baa1 from Aa2, leaving it just three rungs above junk-grade territory. The ratings firm then on Monday cited its downgrade of the country as a reason to slash ratings on the banks, saying "the high degree of systemic support from the government had so far largely mitigated the pressure stemming from a much weaker standalone credit profile of these banks."

Ireland has been the latest country to succumb to pressures extending from the European sovereign debt crisis. The government conceded in November that it would require an international bailout package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to help it avoid defaulting on its debt.

The ratings firm on Friday, talking about why it slashed ratings on Ireland, said the country "has suffered from the repeated crystallization of bank-related contingent liabilities on the government's balance sheet."

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