The credit outlook for banks

The near future still looks bleak for the banking industry. Credit deterioration and earnings declines have taken a toll. But Standard & Poor's says that this will not necessarily lead to credit downgrades. There has been a lot of credit ratings action as of late. Little reported has been the upgrades. The likes of U.S. Trust, PNC Financial, and others have earned upgrades. Of course the downgrades are more interesting, especially when the list is topped by Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns. In the past quarter, S&P downgraded 13 financial companies and lowered its outlook on 17. We could see more of this.  

 For more:
- here's a list of S&P upgrades and downgrades via Business Week Online