Standard & Poor's has downgraded four Greek banks' credit ratings, two days after cutting the debt-ridden country's credit worthiness by two notches, putting it further into junk status.
S&P said Thursday it was lowering the ratings to B+ for Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank, EFG Eurobank Ergasias and the National Bank of Greece.
The agency said it believed there was an increased likelihood of a government debt restructuring, and the four banks' business and financial profiles were likely to be weakened by the "deterioration of the economic and operating environment."
Greece was saved from defaulting on its debts last May by a three-year euro110 billion ($156 million) package of bailout loans from the other European Union countries that use the euro and the International Monetary Fund.
