Fitch downgrades eight banks
France’s two biggest banks were among eight downgraded by ratings agency Fitch yesterday after it put them on negative watch two months ago. Fitch hit BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Barclays, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs with downgrades to their viability ratings and one or two notch cuts to their long-term issuer default ratings. The agency said the banks were “particularly sensitive to the increased challenges the financial markets face”.