Irish Nationwide debt rating cut by Fitch

Irish Nationwide Building Society's senior debt ratings have been cut Fitch Ratings, the because of its exposure to the deteriorating…

Irish Nationwide Building Society's senior debt ratings have been cut Fitch Ratings, the because of its exposure to the deteriorating property market.

It is the second agency in a week to downgrade the lender.

The cut in Nationwide long-term issuer default rating to BBB+ from A- "reflects Fitch's continuing concerns about the uncertain outlook for commercial and residential property lending in Ireland and the UK," the ratings company said in a statement.

Irish Nationwide's ratings were cut by Moody's on September 4th.

Irish house prices are declining and unemployment rising as the economy faces its first recession in more than two decades.

House prices fell 9.4 per cent in July from a year earlier.

Bloomberg