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Moody's downgrades 15 major banks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18542691

The credit ratings agency Moody's has downgraded 15 global banks and financial institutions.

The UK banks downgraded were Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC. Lloyds also had its rating cut by Moody's in a separate announcement.

In the US, Bank of America and Citigroup were among those marked down.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said that banks were concerned as the downgrades may make it harder for them to borrow money commercially.

Explaining the decision for the downgrade, Moody's global banking managing director Greg Bauer highlighted the banks' exposure to volatility in the world's financial markets.

He said that all of the banks affected by the downgrades had "significant exposure to the volatility and risk of outsized losses".

The other institutions that have been downgraded are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse, UBS, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Canada.