Standard & Poor’s said it may downgrade Portugal’s credit rating again this week after cutting long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings today on five Portuguese banks and two related subsidiaries.
“The negative CreditWatch implications on our long-term counterparty credit ratings on the Portuguese banks reflect our negative CreditWatch listing of the sovereign rating, and thus the possibility of a further sovereign downgrade” that may happen “as early as this week,” S&P said in an e-mailed statement.
S&P said it may cut Portugal’s ratings by one notch after downgrading its debt on March 25 by two levels, to BBB from A-, two days after Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates tendered his resignation.