por admin » Mar Jun 05, 2012 10:41 pm
Moody's downgrades bancos Alemanes y de Austria
Recibio el downgrade Commerzbank, el segundo banco Aleman. En total fueron 7 bancos Alemanes y 3 Austrianos.
Commerzbank Cut As Moody’s Downgrades German, Austrian Banks
By Sanat Vallikappen - Jun 5, 2012 11:31 PM ET
Commerzbank AG (CBK), Germany’s second- largest bank, had its credit rating cut one level as Europe’s deepening debt crisis prompted Moody’s Investors Service to downgrade seven lenders in the nation and three in Austria.
Commerzbank, based in Frankfurt, was reduced to A3, Moody’s said in a statement today. A review of Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), the nation’s largest lender, will be concluded later, Moody’s said.
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The Commerzbank AG headquarters, left, is seen at night from the Eiserner Steg bridge, across from the river Main in Frankfurt. Policy makers at the European Central Bank meeting today face increasing pressure to lower rates and introduce more liquidity support for banks. Photographer: Hannelore Foerster/Bloomberg
The Group of Seven nations yesterday agreed to coordinate their response to Europe’s turmoil, which has tipped at least eight of the 17 euro-area economies into recession and damped European demand for foreign goods. Policy makers at the European Central Bank meeting today face increasing pressure to lower rates and introduce more liquidity support for banks.
Moody’s decision is “a bit harsh” given the resilience of the German banking system and economy, said Sandy Mehta, chief executive officer of Value Investment Principals Ltd., a Hong Kong-based investment advisory company. “But given the events in Europe, unless the authorities and the powers that be are more decisive and take firmer action, then you do have the risk that the economic problems will engulf Germany as well.”
The rating actions were driven by “the increased risk of further shocks emanating from the euro area debt crisis, in combination with the banks’ limited loss-absorption capacity,” Moody’s said. In addition to Commerzbank, five other German banking groups were reduced, as was the local subsidiary of UniCredit SpA (UCG), Italy’s biggest lender.
Austrian Banks Vulnerable
In Austria, UniCredit Bank Austria AG and Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI), Eastern Europe’s third-biggest lender, were lowered one level to A3 and A2 respectively, Moody’s said in a separate statement. Erste Group Bank AG (EBS), the region’s second- biggest lender after UniCredit’s Milan-based parent, was cut two grades to A3.
The downgrades “reflect their vulnerability to the adverse operating conditions in some of their core markets,” Moody’s said of the Austrian lenders. They also face “increased risk of further shocks from the ongoing euro area debt crisis,” it said.
While Moody’s has a top AAA rating on Austria’s sovereign debt, it said in February it may lower the outlook to negative. Standard & Poor’s cut the country’s debt rating to AA from AAA on Jan. 13.
Calls to the press offices of Commerzbank and the three Austrian banks after regular business hours went unanswered.
Stagnating Economy
Figures today may show the euro area’s gross domestic product stagnated in the latest quarter after dropping 0.3 percent in the previous period, according to a Bloomberg survey. In Germany, industrial output probably declined 1 percent in April from a month earlier, when it climbed 2.8 percent, a separate survey showed.
DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale and DZ Bank AG were among privately traded German banks cut by Moody’s today. The rating company said many of the nation’s lenders were downgraded less than European rivals because of factors including the country’s below-average unemployment and low household and corporate debt.
Calls to the two banks’ German press offices seeking comment after regular business hours went unanswered.
Spanish Bailout Funds
German banks’ resilience contrasts with those in Spain, where the Bankia (BKIA) group was nationalized last month. The Spanish government is pushing for Europe to channel funds directly to banks as concern mounts over the country’s ability to support lenders facing mounting costs of cleaning up souring assets. Germany opposes Spain’s request for Europe’s bailout fund to be able to provide money directly to banks.
Yesterday’s G-7 conference call centered on helping Greece and Spain place their public finances on a sustainable footing, Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said. European officials “said they will speed up their efforts to resolve those problems, which was encouraging to us,” Azumi told reporters.
Moody’s said in February that it was putting 114 European banks and an additional eight non-European firms with large capital-markets businesses under review to assess the impact of the region’s debt crisis. Last month, it downgraded 16 Spanish banks including Banco Santander SA (SAN) and 26 Italian lenders including UniCredit.