Standard and Poor’s downgrades seven Spanish banks

The ratings agency Standard and Poor’s has downgraded seven Spanish banks – BBVA, Caixabank, Santander, Banesto, Sabadell, el Popular and BFA-Bankia – as a result of the lowering last week of the rate applicable to the Spanish sovereign debt. In effect, the downgrade has been applied to all banks that maintained a rating higher than BBB, the rating currently held by …