Moody's Cuts German, Austrian Banks On Euro Risks Including UniCredit SpA-Reuters

Reuters reported that Moody's Investors Service cut the credit ratings of six German banking groups and Austria's three banks on Wednesday, saying they face risks if the euro zone crisis deepens. The downgrades are part of a broad review of banks in the region that has had investors on edge but were mild compared to cuts for banks in weaker economies such as Spain and Italy. Moody's said German lenders face risks to the quality of their assets if the euro zone crisis deepens or the global economy slows more, while also noting the relative strength of the German and Austrian economies. Commerzbank AG saw its long-term rating cut by one notch to A3 from A2 and assigned a negative outlook. Other German banks Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg and Norddeutsche Landesbank GZ were lowered to A3 from A2 and given stable outlooks while Italy's UniCredit SpA saw its German unit cut to A3 from A2 and given a negative outlook. The agency delayed action on Deutsche Bank AG and its subsidiaries, saying that will come with reviews for other global firms with large capital markets operations. In Austria, Moody's cut the long-term rating for Erste Group Bank AG by two notches to A3 from A1 and assigned a negative outlook while UniCredit Bank Austria AG was cut to A3 from A2, also with a negative outlook. Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG was cut to A2 from A1 and assigned a stable outlook.