Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services hiked its estimate for how many bad mortgage investments banks will have to write off their books, though the ratings agency said Thursday the end may be in sight.
S&P expects banks to record $285 billion in "write-downs," or assumptions that their investments are no longer as valuable. Banks including Citigroup Inc (C, Fortune 500). and Merrill Lynch & Co (MER, Fortune 500). have written off more than $150 billion of investments, in part because they are backed by home loans considered unlikely to be repaid.
S&P’s previous estimate for write-downs was $265 billion.
The ratings agency said Wall Street is likely more than halfway through the write-downs it will have to record how to get a free credit report. In many cases, it seems like banks have written off a lot more than actual losses are likely to be, S&P said.
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