Fitch closes ratings escape route for frustrated issuers

Structured finance and covered bond issuers hoping their deals will escape the waves of downgrades likely to hit the European banking system have had one of their routes out of the bind closed by Fitch. The agency, which could downgrade a third of European banks this year, is consulting on proposals which could effectively block issuers from including “rating removal language” in their deals, by stopping these deals reaching a triple-A rating.