Rating agency Standard & Poor’s on Friday downgraded a number of Spanish banks to “junk”, given the concerns on the Spanish economy and the banking industry.
Standard & Poor’s released a report today, and decided to cut the ratings of Bankia SA (BSIA) and the Banco Popular Espanol SA (POP) from “BBB-” to “BB +”.
Standard & Poor’s said in the report that they believe the Spanish government will probably provide short-term support when necessary, to provide support for any potential capital shortage situation of the two banks.
Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s also downgraded the rating of Bankinter SA (BKT) to “junk”, and set the rating outlook for Banco Santander (SAN) as “negative”.