S&P cuts view on 10 U.S. banks, cites housing

Standard & Poor's cut its ratings or outlooks for 10 U.S. regional banking companies on Wednesday, citing expectations for higher losses tied to the nation's troubled real estate markets.

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Most of the affected lenders have significant exposure to residential and construction loans in one or more of the nation's hardest-hit housing markets: California, Florida, Michigan and Ohio. Lenders worldwide have suffered close to $500 billion of write-downs and credit losses since the credit and housing crisis began last year.