Moody's to review more than 100 banks

NEW YORK, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service Thursday warned more than 100 U.S. and European banks their credit ratings are at risk.

Moody's said 114 banks in Europe are at risk of having their status lowered as "the combination of changed operating conditions and increased regulatory requirements and restrictions has diminished these firms' longer-term profitability and growth prospects."

The Wall Street Journal reported banks on Moody's watch list outside Europe included Nomura in Japan and JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America in the United States.

Goldman Sachs, which managed to outperform many other global banks throughout the past five years, is also on the list, the Journal said.

Banks in Italy, Spain Britain, France and Germany also are on the list.

"The current environment is characterized by disrupted markets and a deteriorating, uncertain economic outlook. In many countries, weakening sovereign creditworthiness is exacerbating these negative characteristics," Moody's said.