Denmark's biggest financial institution Danske Bank said today ratings agency Standard & Poor's had downgraded the bank's credit rating by one notch and adjusted its outlook upwards.

The ratings agency has downgraded the Danske Bank Group to A-/A-2 from A/A-1, and the outlook has been adjusted upwards, from "negative" to "stable", the bank said.

The move was partly blamed on continued weakness in the Irish property market, whcih is expected to result in high impairment costs.

"It also reflects our view that the resolution of the Danish financial crisis will create above-average impairment losses for the bank," S&P said. "We now expect Danske Bank's projected losses to be higher than we previously anticipated."

Additional reporting: Reuters