Britain's banks to hold back recovery - papers

Standard & Poor's on Monday lowered the collective rating of Britain's banks in anticipation of "high credit losses", reports The Telegraph. By slashing the "banking industry country risk assessment" (BICRA) from group two to group three, the UK's financial system is now considered less secure than those of Italy and Belgium, and on a par with Chile, Portugal and Austria. "We no longer consider the UK to rank among the most stable and low-risk banking systems globally in the light of the weak economic environment, the reputational damage to the industry, and the increased dependence o...