Irish banks dowgraded to junk staus by Moody’s
19 Apr 2011
Irish banks have been downgraded to junk status by credit ratings agenfcy Moody's. The development has added renewed pressure on the eurozone's weaker countries.
This comes in the wake of last week's downgrading by Moody's of the Irish Republic's sovereign debt rating (See: Moody's downgrades Ireland's credit rating to one grade above 'junk')
In its latest downgrade Allied Irish Banks, EBS and Irish Life & Permanent had their long-term bank deposit ratings downgraded by two notches to Ba2 with Bank of Ireland downgraded to Ba1, one notch above its rivals.
The move escalates the Irish Republic's borrowing costs, and comes after a rare spell of positive news last week that saw Dublin passing a review of its economic progress by its international creditors.
According to the Republic's central bank, the cost of bailing out the bank sector could reach €70 billion.
Last year, Ireland needed an international bail-out worth €85 billion.
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