Standard & Poor's international rating agency lowered the loan rating of Greece by three tiers, BBC News informs. Now Greece has the lowest rating in the world. The rating forecast was left negative which means the forecast may well continue to go down.
S&P shifted the long-term loan rating of Greece form B to CCC. Reuters note that the Greece’s rating proved to be lower than that of Pakistan and Ecuador which were banned from entering the market after the default in 2009.
Standard & Poor's also warned that any restructuring of Athens’ debt will be regarded as default.
The Greece’s government which have been trying to employ alternative ways of tough saving via the Parliament to get funds from the EU and IMF claimed that Standard & Poor's analysts overlooked all Athens’ and the IMF attempts to settle the situation.
The debt crisis in Greece started in late 2009. In 2010 the country was given a bailout of 110 bln. euros by the EU, IMF and ECB to cover the debt which now runs over 350 bln. euros. A year later it turned out that the plan thoroughly elaborated by Greece failed to succeed.
In mid May 2011 the Greece’s government stated that the country may need supplementary aid of 60 bln. euros until 2013. In early June Moody’s agency decreased the rating of Greece by 3 tiers. On June 7 the IMF informed of its intension to cease assisting Greece until the EU comes to a unanimous opinion on Greece’s debt issue.
The EU, IMF, ECB and the authorities of Greece consider that the country is able to avoid default. Yet, all the parties concerned believe that the funds allocated to Athens are insufficient.