Downgrades put Moody’s head on the block

Following a review for downgrade of senior debt ratings, Moody's has placed on review for downgrade the ratings of covered bonds issued by Austrian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French and German banks. The decision may cause issuers to drop the agency, analysts said. And in a widely anticipated move, the Moody’s also put on review for downgrade many Spanish, Portuguese and Italian covered bond programmes.