Moody's has cut the credit ratings of five Dutch banks including ING and ABN AMRO as business is likely to remain difficult due to falling house prices and the European debt crisis.
AP reports that the ratings agency said difficult conditions for banks in the Netherlands are likely to continue throughout 2012 and possibly beyond.
Moody's said all the downgraded banks have large mortgage books and high reliance on raising funds from other banks.
It cut the long-term debt and deposit ratings for Rabobank Nederland by two notches to Aa2. ING Bank and ABN AMRO Bank were cut by two notches to A2.
Ratings for LeasePlan Corporation and SNS Bank were also cut. All the banks were given stable outlooks, which means the ratings are unlikely to change again in the near term.
