NEW YORK — Three of the nation’s top banks are likely to start paying more to borrow money.
Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday lowered its debt ratings for Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. The ratings agency said it has become less likely that the U.S. government would step in and prevent the three lenders from failing in a crisis.
“The probability of government support for the banks is less now than during the financial crisis,” said David Fanger, senior vice president at Moody’s.
The downgrades were widely expected after the ratings agency placed the three banks on review in June.
Bank of America Corp. was hit worst. Moody’s downgraded its key long-term debt ratings two notches, to Baa1 from A2. Wells Fargo & Co.’s long-term debt rating fell one notch to A2 from A1, while Citigroup Inc.’s rating remained the same at A3.
Moody’s did downgrade Citi’s short-term debt.
