S&P says not seen rampant deposit outflows to merit rating action

(Reuters) – S&P has not placed other U.S. banks on CreditWatch negative since First Republic Bank as it has not seen widespread deposit outflows, the ratings agency said on Tuesday, hours after Moodys cut its outlook on the U.S. banking system to negative.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank had sparked a crisis of confidence in the banking sector, leading to a run on deposits at a host of regional banks despite U.S. authorities launching emergency measures to shore up confidence.

Earlier on Tuesday, S&P Global Ratings placed First Republic Bank on CreditWatch negative, reflecting lower confidence in the lenders financial strength.

However, later in the day, S&P said it had not seen evidence that the unmanageable deposit outflows seen at a few banks had widely spread across the banks it covers.

S&P said U.S. regulators measures gave banks additional liquidity, although the ratings agency cautioned that conditions were fluid and that some banks were showing greater signs of stress than others.

Moodys Investors Service revised its outlook on the U.S. banking system to “negative” from “stable” earlier on Tuesday to reflect the rapid deterioration in the operating environment.

However, Ron O‘Hanley, the chief executive officer of asset manager State Street Corp, said on Wednesday that Moody’s outlook cut was “a terrible overreaction.”

The regulators had reassured markets, OHanley said in a Bloomberg News interview.

(Reporting by Lavanya Ahire and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio DSouza)