Moody's downgrades Spanish banks' ratings to Aa2

SPAIN (Agencies) Moody's Investors Service took multiple rating actions on Spanish banks on Thursday, including downgrades by one or more notches of the senior debt and deposit ratings of 30 banks. The rating actions follows the downgrade of the debt rating of the Kingdom of Spain and also reflects a reassessment of the extraordinary level of systemic support -- of up to 6 notches -- that had been embedded in many Spanish banks' ratings, limiting support to more normalized levels. The key drivers for Thursday's rating actions are:>
a. The combination of heightened financial pressures on the sovereign and many weak banks; b. Declining systemic importance of many smaller and regional banks as the sector consolidates; and c.Weakening future support environment for banks across Europe. The ratings of the three largest Spanish banks (Banco Santander, BBVA and La Caixa) are unaffected and have been confirmed.