After bailout, new default rumours

“Rating agencies threaten aid to Greece”, leads Público. According to the Lisbon daily, the new financial aid package for Greece, worth about 85 billion euros currently under discussion is at risk of hitting a brick wall. “The German and French banks are willing to take part in a rollover of Greek debt (i.e. extension of the payment period) provided that the rating agencies do not downgrade the country’s risk assessment”. But that is precisely what Fitch and Standard & Poor’s (the two biggest rating agencies) are threatening to do. The agencies say that current talks between the EU and Greece are leading to “a default on payment according to our criteria”. Three days after ministers from the eurozone agreed to release the last tranche of the current Greek aid programme, worth 12 billion euros, without committing themselves to a date for approving the new package, pressure on the country is building again.