Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday cut its rating on State Street Corp.'s unsecured debt from Aa3 to A1, pointing to unrealized losses in the Boston firm's portfolio and in investment pools it manages for clients, The Wall Street Journal reports. Moody's move comes a day after Standard & Poors downgraded State Street, parent of State Street Global Advisors, for similar reasons.

On Tuesday, State Street officials said unrealized losses as of Dec. 30 were $9.1 billion, representing an increase of close to $5 billion in the fourth quarter.

State Street spokeswoman Hannah Grove told The WSJ that the reaction to the company's unrealized losses "defies logic," saying State Street believes it is well-capitalized and the value of its assets will improve as the liquidity crisis in the market eases.  

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