Moody's

Global credit ratings agency Moody's has warned the UK is at risk of losing its AAA status should the economy slide into a triple-dip recession.

Moody's will strip the United States of its AAA rating if a deficit reduction deal is not struck in Congress, it has warned.

Moody's has downgraded the credit rating of financial services group Close Brothers, pointing to the rapid growth of its loan book and its exposure to the flagging UK economy.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the credit rating on 28 Spanish banks, including Banco Santander, less than a month after cutting the nation's sovereign rating.

UK banks including RBS, Barclays and HSBC are set to be downgraded by Moody's this evening, it has emerged.

Moody's has downgraded the credit ratings of five of the Netherlands' largest banks as the country's economy struggles with a domestic recession and the effects of the eurozone crisis.

Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service has cut the long-term debt and deposit ratings for 26 Italian banks as the crisis in Europe clouds their prospects.

The UK's prized AAA credit rating has been put on "negative outlook" by Fitch, the second ratings agency to warn of a possible economic downgrade.

Ratings agencies have refused to apologise for mistakes made in the run-up to the subprime mortgage crisis - and warned more errors could be made in the future.

It is far more likely the UK will retain its prized triple-A status than be downgraded, according to the bookies which seem unperturbed by the recent ratings agency threat.