BANKS: SIX GERMAN BANKS SUFFER RATING CUTS
Six German banks have had their credit ratings downgraded because of the risk of further shocks from the eurozone debt crisis. Moody's, the rating agency, cut ratings for Commerzbank, Germany's second-largest bank by assets, and five other banks in the eurozone's largest economy. Moody's also downgraded Austria's three largest banks, all with heavy exposure to economies in central and eastern Europe. The downgrades were less severe than those suffered by other European banks; the German economy has held up well in the crisis, driving down unemployment and reducing the risk to banks of loan default by private and corporate customers. [From James Wilson: "Six German banks suffer rating cuts", Financial Times, 7 June 2012]
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