House of Cards: S & P drops rating changes on 37 global banks

November 29, 2011 – NEW YORK – The aria is over- the last opera has begun. Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. (C) had long-term credit grades downgraded to A- from A by Standard & Poor’s after the ratings firm revised its criteria for the banking industry. Standard & Poor’s also made the same cut to Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit. S&P listed its ratings for 37 of the largest financial institutions in a statement today. The new ratings were part of a sweeping change to its rating methodology for 37 financial institutions published on Nov. 9. The move may increase pressure on Bank of America, which has plunged 62 percent this year in New York trading. The second-biggest U.S. lender, by assets, said in a filing this month that a ratings cut could trigger billions of dollars in collateral payments and crimp access to credit markets. Downgrades may be costly for banks. Bank of America said in a regulatory filing this month that it may have to post $5.1 billion of additional collateral and termination payments on its trades were it to be downgraded one level by rating companies. Ratings downgrades “could likely have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, potential loss of access to credit markets, the related cost of funds, our businesses and on certain trading revenues, particularly in those businesses where counterparty creditworthiness is critical,” Bank of America said in the filing. The company, which noted the risk of downgrades from S&P and Fitch Ratings in its third-quarter filing, previously said it has prepared by lining up funding for a year. –Bloomberg