NEW YORK (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on Monday downgraded Greece government bond ratings into junk territory, citing the risks in the euro zone/IMF rescue package for the debt-laden country.
The agency downgraded the rating by four notches to Ba1, placing it one notch into junk status. The outlook is stable.
Moody's also downgraded Greece's short-term issuer rating to not-prime from Prime-1.
The rescue package "effectively eliminates any near-term risk of a liquidity-driven default and encourages the implementation of a credible, feasible, and incentive-compatible set of structural reforms, which have a high likelihood of stabilizing debt service requirements at manageable levels," said Moody's senior analyst Sarah Carlson.
"Nevertheless, the macroeconomic and implementation risks associated with the program are substantial and more consistent with a Ba1 rating.
(Reporting by Ciara Linnane)
