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Three top French banks downgraded by Moody's

The ratings agency says the ongoing euro crisis means the eurozone is a “fragile operating environment for European banks” at the moment.

CREDIT RATINGS agency Moody’s has downgraded three of France’s main banks over concerns about the bank’s access to market funding amidst the eurozone debt crisis.

Moody’s announced this morning that it was downgrading the overall strength ratings of BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Credit Agricole SA.

The agency cited risky debt levels and liquidity and funding restraints as some of the main factors behind the downgrades, adding that the severity of the eurozone crisis has increased. It also said that the eurozone was a “fragile operating environment for European banks”.

The move comes a day after the European Banking Authority warned that the three French banks, along with BPCE, have a capital shortfall of €7.3 billion. France must submit plans for tackling the funding shortfall to the EBA by 20 January 2012.

S&P puts whole of European Union on notice of possible downgrade

Hungary may adopt new EU deal – with UK veto the only obstacle to Treaty change

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10 Comments
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    Mute David Higgins
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    Dec 9th 2011, 1:05 PM

    Same ratings agencies that gave subprime mortgages AAA – ignore them!!!

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    Mute Sean C
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    Dec 9th 2011, 1:18 PM

    Who gives a fat rat’s arse …. FFS don’t encourage them oxygen thieves !

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    Mute Sean C
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    Dec 9th 2011, 1:19 PM

    Spot on !

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    Mute Gis Bayertz
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    Dec 9th 2011, 4:31 PM

    Exactly David. At this stage you can actually just laugh at them

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    Mute Neil Murphy
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    Dec 9th 2011, 2:39 PM

    Welcome to the party France, we’ve been expecting you.

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    Mute Ann Illing
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    Dec 9th 2011, 3:27 PM

    German banks next. They have huge debt too.

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    Mute Tim Henchin
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    Dec 9th 2011, 5:34 PM

    The German banks are the worst, they have the highest leveraging in the western world and it is believed that the bad debt on their books is circa 450bn.

    The agencies are assholes and have screwed up but the complaint here is that they should be down grading theses along time ago. Political pressure is being brought to bear on them.

    The entire banking system of the Eurozone is completely shot and in conjunction with fixing Sovereigns it will take 2.5-3 trillion Euro’s.

    Until the bailout is described as the biggest the world has ever seen, then this is going to go on and on. It is time to burn the bondholders, do what pretty much every leading economist and investor has been advising, what the head of the largest bond co. in the world said was the right thing to do.

    The only way this crisis can be solved is via inflation, debt write off and austerity. The shite they are doing now is just not going to work.

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    Mute Gis Bayertz
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    Dec 9th 2011, 4:32 PM

    What if the whole world was to arrive at junk status?

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    Mute Kieran O' Leary
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    Dec 9th 2011, 7:23 PM

    It probably is.

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    Mute Tony Skillington
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    Dec 9th 2011, 11:03 PM

    Welcome to the jungle lads…..

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