Fitch Ratings may be forced to downgrade dozens of banks including JP Morgan Chase, reported CNBC. The ratings agency in June had cut the banks' health assessment but it went unnoticed as it didn't trigger downgrades on banks, according to Fitch Ratings' Christopher Wolfe.
As reported by CNBC, Wolfe had mentioned that another one-notch downgrade of the industry’s score, to A+ from AA-, would force Fitch to reevaluate ratings on each of the more than 70 U.S. banks it covers.
“If we were to move it to A+, then that would recalibrate all our financial measures and would probably translate into negative rating actions,” Wolfe told CNBC
Also Read: Moody's lowers ratings of US banks, signals potential reductions for others
Just a week ago, another global credit ratings agency Moody's downgraded the credit ratings of several small to mid-sized U.S. banks. Moody's highlighted the challenges to the sector's credit strength due to funding risks and diminishing profitability.
Also Read: Fitch downgrades U.S credit rating to AA+ after debt limit standoff
Earlier this month, Fitch had cut the U.S government's credit rating to AA+ from AAA, following concerns over the country's financial state and debt burden.
Following the CNBC report, the stocks of Major US banks including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America pulled down by more than 2% on Tuesday's close.