French banks face downgrade due to Greek exposure
Credit ratings agency Moody’s says it may downgrade its ratings of France’s three largest banks over their exposure to Greece.
Moody’s said Wednesday that BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole face a one-notch downgrade, while Societe Generale could see a two-notch decline through their holdings of Greek government bonds or through their local banking subsidiaries.
Earlier this month Moody’s downgraded Greece by three notches from a B1 rating to Caa1 with a negative outlook, citing increased risk that the financially stricken country will be unable to handle its debt problems without an eventual restructuring – paying creditors less than the full amount, or later than originally planned.
Meanwhile, ratings agency Standard and Poor?s (S
