Banking News South Africa

Moody's cut French banks' ratings

Two French banks have had their ratings cut by Moody's because of their exposure to the debt crisis facing Greece, highlighting the growing risks that banks in Europe face from the deepening Euro zone issues.

The ratings agency downgraded Societe Generale and Credit Agricole but left the biggest bank, PNB Paribas unchanged although it kept this bank on review.

It says that PNB Paribas has the profitability and capital base to provide it with an adequate cushion to support its exposure to debts in Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

The European Commission has announced that it will soon present plans for issuing a common Euro zone bond, despite encountering objections from a number of countries, including Germany.

There are widespread fears that Greece will default on its loans and some analysts believe that the default is unavoidable but that it will be carefully "managed" by members of the European Community.

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