Shares in British banks were broadly up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after Moody's hinted that Britain could lose its AAA credit rating.

On Wednesday the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered the annual Budget, but in the process said that growth forecasts for the year had been downgraded.

Growth for 2011/12 was downgraded from 2.1 per cent to 1.7 per cent, while for 2012/13 predicted growth was cut from 2.6 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

In response rating's agency Moody's said that Britain may have its AAA rating downgraded, should weak growth hamper the government's ability to balance the nation's books.

By 10:15 shares in Lloyds Banking Group were up 0.65 per cent to 60.74 pence per share, RBS shares rose 0.81 per cent to 42.22 pence per share and HSBC shares increased 0.96 per cent to 652.80 pence per share.

Barclays however saw its shares fall 0.14 per cent to 290.50 pence per share.

Overall the FTSE 100 was up 0.62 per cent to 5,917.34.

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