NEW YORK (PNN) - June 21, 2012 - Already grappling with weak profits and global economic turmoil, 15 major banks were hit with credit downgrades on Thursday that could do more damage to their bottom lines and further unsettle equity markets.

The credit agency, Moody’s Investors Service, cut the credit scores of banks to new lows to reflect new risks that the industry has encountered since the financial crisis.

Citigroup and Bank of America, which have struggled to fully recover from the financial crisis, were among the hardest hit. After the downgrades, the banks stand barely above the minimum for an investment grade rating, a sign of the difficult business conditions they face.

Executives at the banks argued on Thursday that the new ratings failed to reflect the safeguards and changes they had put in place in recent years.

Along with Citigroup and Bank of America, the credit rating agency took action on 13 other banks, including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, UBS, HSBC, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, Royal Bank of Canada, and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Moody’s may cut some of its ratings still further once a critical part of the financial overhaul comes into place. The Dodd-Frank legislation aims to give regulators the power to wind down large banks and inflict losses on banks’ creditors in the process. Once these powers take effect, Moody’s may downgrade the banks to reflect the fact that governments are less likely to bail out large banks.