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International credit rating agency Standard and Poor's lowered the credit rating of Greece from A- to BBB + with negative outlook and warning of a new reduction. The decision of Standard and Poor's was announced just two days after PM Giorgos Papandreou’s presented his measures for the rehabilitation of the government finances. And so the financial house became the second after Fitch, to lower the credit rating of Greece. Fitch also gave Greece BBB + rating. Since the beginning of the week a group of experts from the third major international credit evaluation agency Moody's, was in Athens and they are also expected to come up with an assessment of the status of the Greek economy in the coming days. So far, Moody's is gives the highest credit rating of A1 for Greece.

"We believe that the attempts of the government to strengthen public finances will encounter problems of local nature and will require persistent efforts over several years," says the official release of Standard and Poor's. "The credit rating reduction expresses our opinion that the announced measures by the government to reduce domestic debt is impossible by itself lead to an effective reduction of public deficit," stated Mark Mirznik, an analyst at the agency.

Greek Ministry of Finance discussed the Standard and Poor's evaluation as part of a general lack of trust in the country and not a disappointment from the announced economic reforms of Papandreou.