JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo All Downgraded by Moody’s Following US Government Loss of AAA Rating: Report

Moody’s has downgraded deposit ratings of top US lenders JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo just days after stripping the nation of its triple-A rating.

In a new report by Bloomberg, the lenders’ long-term deposit ratings were lowered to Aa2, a one-step decrease and Moody’s third-highest level.

The reason cited by Moody’s for the downgrade is the government’s weakened ability to support the banks.

On Friday, Moody’s downgraded America’s credit rating from AAA to AA1 while changing the country’s outlook from negative to stable. Moody’s attributes the downgrade to the United States’ soaring national debt and interest payment ratios that exceed those of other countries with the same credit rating.

“As deficits and debt have grown, and interest rates have risen, interest payments on government debt have increased markedly. Without adjustments to taxation and spending, we expect budget flexibility to remain limited, with mandatory spending, including interest expense, projected to rise to around 78% of total spending by 2035 from about 73% in 2024.”

Other bank rating downgrades included the senior unsecured debt ratings for some rated subsidiaries and branches of Bank of America. Moody’s also cut the long-term counterparty risk ratings for some units of Bank of America, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, lowering them to Aa2 from Aa1.

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