Banco Santander, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo ― whose auto finance units rank among the largest in the country ― are among 37 financial institutions worldwide whose credit ratings took a hit yesterday.
Standard & Poor’s, the agency that downgraded the credit rating of the U.S. in August, lowered its rating on the banks based on new criteria released last month. S&P will release evaluations of the individual bank groups affected by the changes.
Other institutions affected by the rating action include Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.
Typically, ratings downgrades result in higher borrowing costs.
Click here for the full list of S&P rating actions.