NASDAQ reported Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it reviewed its ratings on 31 North American regional banks and downgraded five more banks, as the agency applied its new bank ratings criteria.
According to the report, the banks include: U.S. Bancorp, Northern Trust Corp., PNC Financial Services Group, BB&T Corp. and Commerce Bancshares Inc., while their outlooks are 'stable'.
Of the total, ratings on 19 were left unchanged, while a few, including Associated Banc Corp., Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. and First Republic Bank, received upgrades.
As reported, S&P last week downgraded 37 major banks, mostly in the U.S. and Europe. Those included Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and UBS AG, among others. S&P had noted that the new criteria could mean lower ratings for some.