S&P; Downgrades Chemical Banking Debt: The major...

S&P; Downgrades Chemical Banking Debt: The major credit-rating agency said its downgrade of $5 billion worth of debt of the nation’s sixth-largest banking company reflected its “expectation of further moderate deterioration in loan quality in a continued difficult operating environment.” However, Standard & Poor’s tempered its concern with optimistic statements about prospects at the New York-based bank. The downgrade followed similar rating reductions affecting Citicorp, Security Pacific Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Chase Manhattan Corp.