Whatever the merits of this judgment (I don't actually believe it), it's important to note that the health of financial firms is largely determined by the perceived probability
of future bailouts.
Moody's has downgraded the credit rating of 12 UK financial firms including Lloyds TSB, RBS, Nationwide and Santander UK.
Moody's said it now believed the UK government was less likely to support some firms if they got into trouble.
However, the firm emphasised that the downgrades did not "reflect a deterioration in the financial strength of the banking system".
