Moody’s cuts U.S. banks on mounting funding costs, office exposure

financialpost.com:

Moody’s Investors Service lowered credit ratings for 10 small and mid-size United States banks and said it may downgrade major lenders including U.S. Bancorp, Bank of New York Mellon Corp., State Street Corp., and Truist Financial Corp. as part of a sweeping look at mounting pressures on the industry.

Higher funding costs, potential regulatory capital weaknesses and rising risks tied to commercial real estate loans amid weakening demand for office space are among strains prompting the review, Moody’s said in a spree of notes late Monday.

“Collectively, these three developments have lowered the credit profile of a number of U.S. banks, though not all banks equally,” it wrote in some of the assessments.

Firms that had ratings cut included M&T Bank Corp., Webster Financial Corp., BOK Financial Corp., Old National Bancorp, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc., and Fulton Financial Corp.

Northern Trust Co. and Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. are also under review for downgrades.

And Moody’s adopted a “negative” outlook for 11 lenders including PNC Financial Services Group, Capital One Financial Corp., Citizens Financial Group Inc., Fifth Third Bancorp, Regions Financial Corp., Ally Financial Inc., Bank OZK and Huntington Bancshares Inc.

Shares of several affected companies dropped in early New York trading. U.S. Bancorp and Bank of New York Mellon both slid 2.3 per cent, while Truist fell 1.8 per cent. PNC was down 1.8 per cent, and Capital One lost two per cent. Among the biggest losers were Citizens Financial, which declined 2.9 per cent, and Ally Financial, which dropped 2.7 per cent.

Investors, rattled by the collapse of regional banks in California and New York this year, have been watching closely for signs of stress in the