-
GR, GRP, PR: What do the French hiking signs mean?
What are the coloured symbols on French hiking routes? Who paints them there and why?
-
Miss France: glam - but not sexy
Miss France organiser Geneviève de Fontenay fears she is fighting a losing battle to protect her 'Cinderella dream' from vulgarity
-
Normandy Landings visit for Queen
Queen Elizabeth has confirmed a state visit to France, ending rumours she is handing over duties to Charles
Moody’s reduces banks’ ratings
The credit rating agency has downgraded SocGen and Crédit Agricole
CREDIT rating agency Moody’s has downgraded two of the biggest French banks – Société Générale and Crédit Agricole.
It has cut both banks’ debt and deposit ratings by one notch and has also downgraded Crédit Agricole’s “bank financial strength rating” (BFSR) by a notch, a measure likely also be applied to SocGen, according to the agency.
The downgrading is due to the fact Moody’s thinks the banks are too exposed to the crisis in the Greek economy.
It is keeping a third bank, BNP Paribas, “under surveillance”, though it has not applied any changes to its ratings as yet.
The governor of the Banque de France, Christian Noyer, said this morning on RTL radio that the degrading was not cause for undue alarm and the situation was unlikely to get any worse for French banks. “They still have very good ratings and are at the same level as the other big European banks,” he said.
On the Paris stock exchange it is expected that the banks’ shares will see a bad day, after a rebound yesterday.
Previous story: Soc Gen needs to save money