S&P Downgrades Financial Institutions

Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit ratings of 11 financial institutions and lowered its outlook on another, saying the moves reflected its view of the industry in the face of "increasing bank industry risk and the deepening global economic slowdown."

The analysts said in the report that they believe that all of the "highly systemically important banks" would get government aid if they needed it but that "some are more likely to need it than others." They added that while the credit ratings reflect the potential for government support, all the institutions' issues have yet to be worked out and that in the medium term, profitability could decrease and loan losses could grow.

The banks affected are Bank of America, Barclays, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, RBS, UBS and Wells Fargo.

--Terri Rupar