Starting this week, Moody’s Investors Service will begin the rollout of a series of rating actions for all Moody’s-rated banks in conjunction with the implementation of its joint default analysis methodology for banks and its updated Bank Financial Strength Rating methodology. The implementation will cover more than 1,000 banks in over 90 countries.

Moody’s expects to announce any rating actions resulting from the implementation on a weekly basis, with roughly 120 to 150 banks being assessed each week for the next seven weeks. The rollout will take place by region, with rating changes announced on Fridays after the market close in New York.

The JDA methodology for banks, which will be published this week after more than a year of market feedback and evaluation, incorporates what Moody’s believes will be more transparent, consistent — and in many cases, increased — recognition of the likelihood of external support either from a parent bank, regional government, cooperative or mutual banking group; or Moody’s opinion about the probability of systemic support.

“Overall there is likely to be a fairly significant number of upgrades of bank deposit ratings, with a few downgrades. Some bank debt ratings will also be upgraded, although to a lesser extent because in some countries subordinated bank debt obligations benefit less from systemic support than deposits,” says David Fanger, Moody’s chief credit officer for Financial Institutions.

The updated BFSR methodology will lead to some changes to Moody’s Bank Financial Strength Ratings, which measure stand-alone financial strength. “Those changes are likely to be mixed, with some upgrades and some downgrades,” Fanger said.

The first announcement of rating actions, which will cover banks in Nordic countries, Eastern Europe, and the Benelux countries, is planned for Friday, February 23. Rating actions on banks in North America will be announced the following Friday, and banks in Latin America, France, Italy, Israel, and Iberia will be addressed the week after that.