BANKING & FINANCE - Aug. 17, 1995

Salomon Inc. Credit Downgraded: A major credit-rating agency lowered its opinion of the Wall Street firm, citing a big quarterly loss and problems in retaining top investment staff. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group downgraded $15 billion in long-term Salomon debt to a low investment grade and cut the investment firm’s preferred stock to “junk” status. But the parent of Salomon Bros. Inc., while saying it is “extremely disappointed” with S&P;’s action, said the downgrade will have a “relatively small impact” on funding costs.