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Moody's Investors Service said it may downgrade the debt ratings of Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc and Wells Fargo & Co, citing concerns about waning political willingness to offer support for the largest U.S. banks.

Ratings agency Fitch on Friday cut its outlook on Japan's sovereign debt, warning that the vast cost of a March earthquake and tsunami and the still-unknown bill for the clean-up after the nuclear disaster would further strain the country's already shaky public finances.

Regulators took new steps Wednesday to overhaul the firms whose rosy credit ratings inspired overconfidence in investments tied to toxic mortgages. The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rules meant to improve the system by which such firms as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s assign ratings.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded two of the euro zone's most troubled member states, citing fears that the pair may have to restructure their debt after 2013.