S&P lowers three Lebanon banks

Standard & Poor's said it lowered the long-term counterparty credit ratings to B- from B on three Lebanese banks - Audi Saradar Group, BankMed sal and Blom Bank sal - following a similar rating action on Lebanon.

The outlooks on all three banks remain negative.

The agency also said it lowered the short-term counterparty credit ratings to C from B on Bank Audi and BankMed.

The sovereign downgrade reflects the slow decline of Lebanon's macroeconomic fundamentals since the Syrian crisis began in early 2011, S&P said.

After nearly three years of weak growth, exacerbated by an internal political environment not conducive to policymaking, public finances have deteriorated and the debt-to-GDP ratio is again trending upward, the agency said.

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