* Euro slips 1 pct vs dollar; next levels $1.4280, $1.4250
* Moody's places French bank ratings under review
* EUR/USD risk reversals show bets against EUR at 6-mth high
By Jessica Mortimer and Naomi Tajitsu
LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) -The euro fell across the board on Wednesday after euro zone ministers failed to reach agreement on how to tackle the Greek debt crisis and Moody's threatened large French banks with possible downgrades.
The increased investor aversion to risk triggered by the debt crisis pushed the euro down 1 percent on the day versus the dollar to around $1.4290 EUR=.
Traders said Asian sovereign names and leveraged and real money accounts were behind the selling, but support was seen around $1.4280, where market participants cited bids, while stop-loss sell orders were suspected below that level.
Analysts said a Greek national strike against austerity measures was also keeping the euro under selling pressure as it highlighted the country's outrage against the government's efforts to reign in its debts, while ongoing divisions about a debt assistance plan underlined the possibility of contagion risks to other euro zone countries.
"If anyone was bullish on the euro it was on the view that Greece's debt problems would be ring fenced from the rest of the euro zone. The issue of burden sharing is still a sticking point so there are worries that Greece won't be ring fenced," said Daragh Maher, senior currency strategist at Credit Agricole CIB.
He said the $1.43 level was crucial, as it had provided support for the euro in the past few days, adding that a close below it on Wednesday would open the door to further losses towards $1.4050.
Euro zone finance ministers failed on Tuesday to reach agreement on how private holders of Greek debt should share the costs of a new bailout. [ID:nLDE75E03B]
Investor concerns were exacerbated as Moody's rating agency said it was reviewing the ratings of BNP Paribas SA, France's biggest bank, Societe Generale SA and Credit Agricole SA, due to their exposure to Greek debt. [ID:nL3E7HF0A4].
"The market is definitely getting jittery about Greece, and rating agencies looking at European bank exposure to Athens is not going to help," a London-based trader said. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic on bank exposure to euro zone periphery debt
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The single currency was also hurt by a Financial Times report that the German-inspired Greek debt rescheduling plan could force euro zone governments to provide up to an extra 20 billion euros for the financial sector. [ID:nWNA1032]
By 1201 GMT, the euro EUR= traded at $1.4295, hovering around the session low.
Some technical support was seen around $1.4250, close to the 61.8 percent retracement of the euro's rise from late May to early June.
The single currency was down 0.4 percent against the safe-haven Swiss franc at 1.2165 francs EURCHF=, though it stayed above record lows hit earlier in the week when it failed to break below hefty options barriers at $1.2000.
BOLSTERING BEARISH BETS
Options traders reported increasing demand for bearish bets on the single currency via put options as feuding over Greece's rescue continued.
Risk reversals showed increasing demand for bets on a lower euro against the dollar. The 25 delta one-month euro/dollar risk reversal EUR1MRR=ICAP hit levels not seen since December, trading at around 2.1 in favour of euro puts.
"Our option desk is seeing a continuation of the large scale euro put buying they witnessed yesterday, principally in the one month and two month area, with $1.40 strikes proving very popular," a trader at a U.S. bank in London said.
The dollar index .DXY, which tracks its performance against a basket of currencies, was up 0.9 percent at 75.013.
However, concerns over the failure of lawmakers and officials to lift the U.S. debt ceiling was expected to limit dollar gains.
U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned the United States could lose its AAA credit rating while the dollar's status as a reserve currency could be damaged if there was no quick resolution on raising the debt limit. [ID:nN14186233]
The dollar was up 0.3 percent at 80.75 yen JPY=, within the prevailing 79.50-81.00 yen range.
The Australian dollar AUD=D4 held at $1.0674. Earlier, it rose to $1.0715 as the Reserve Bank of Australia governor said an increase in interest rates is still likely to be needed to restrain inflation. [ID:nS9E7H700T] (Reporting by Jessica Mortimer and Naomi Tajitsu)
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