Goldman downgrades several European banks

 Goldman Sachs downgraded several European Banks as rising sovereign yield and lowered market expectations of future short term rates have worsened Italian banks earnings outlook.     Goldman cut its rating on top Italian bank UniCredit, citing weakening earnings outlook and visibility and cut its price target on Intesa Sanpaolo .  However, the brokerage continues to believe that moderate asset repricing and improving sight-deposit spreads have the capacity to partly offset higher funding costs on new debt issuance, especially retail bonds.     The brokerage also cut price targets on two of Spain's top banks -- Santander  and BBVA.  "In Spain, rising sovereign risk resulted in closure of unsecured funding avenues for banks; as a result, competition for retail deposits increased dramatically," Goldman said. It upgraded Credit Agricole SA  to "neutral" from "sell," citing previous underperformance as a result of its exposure to Greece.