While it is good that the ratings agencies are trying to restore their image, they still have a long way to go and S&P's timing to release the downgrade couldn't get much worse. It came as British Chancellor George Osborne's autumn statement highlighted the troubles of the global economy. He warned that Britain's debt challenge was ''greater than we thought'' and that his darkest outlook could turn out to be optimistic if the euro zone crisis worsened. Fitch Ratings followed up with a warning that Britain's AAA credit rating could be at risk from further economic shocks unless the country took fresh measures to cut debt. S&P cut its credit rating on Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Barclays, Lloyds Banking and Royal Bank of Scotland. It is part of a planned credit rating update on a universe of 750 banks worldwide that will kick off over the next few weeks.