Moody's lowered ratings of 16 Spanish banks

Moody's Investors Service on Thursday lowered ratings of 16 Spanish banks and Banco Santander's U.K.-based subsidiary by one to three notches.

Moody's cited unfavorable operating conditions on renewed recession, reduced creditworthiness of the Spanish sovereign, and rapid deterioration in asset quality for the downgrades.

The outlooks on ten of the banks are negative while ratings of seven other banks remain on review for further downgrade. Some of the affected banks include Banco Santander SA, Banco Espanol de Credito, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Caixabank, and Ceca.