Moody's Investors Service said the expected wind-down of the U.K.'s banking bailout programs could trigger ratings downgrades of some British lenders' bonds. The debt ratings of some large U.K. banks have been buoyed recently by the assumption that the government or the Bank of England would rush to their aid to prevent them from collapsing, as they did during the financial crisis. Now that assumption is being reconsidered. "As the financial sector slowly emerges from this recent crisis, our assessment of the probability of the government providing support will revert back to a case-by-case assessment of the impact of each bank's hypothetical failure on financial stability," Moody's wrote in a note Monday. Absent the benefit of the assumed government backstop, Moody's said, some weaker U.K. banks could see their ratings lowered in coming years. View Full Image AFP/Getty Images State-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland is one of the banks which may be affected by a threatened Moody's ratings change.[Read more...]