The downgrade marks the end of an era: Moody’s had maintained a pristine “Aaa” rating on the United States since first assigning it in 1919. It is the last of the three major credit rating agencies to lower its assessment of U.S. creditworthiness, following earlier cuts by Fitch and Standard & Poor’s.

Moody's on Monday downgraded the long-term ratings of top American lenders such as JPMorgan Chase , Bank of America and Wells Fargo , after pushing the U.S. out of top triple-A rating club over its burgeoning $36 trillion debt.