Greece Ratings Downgraded by S&P, Outlook Still Negative

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded the long-term sovereign rating on Greece from BB- to B early Monday morning. The agency also revised Greece's short-term credit rating from B to C.

S&P said both the long- and short-term ratings remain on CreditWatch with negative implications.

The agency said the downgrade reflects "increasing sentiment among Greece's key eurozone official creditors to extend the debt payment maturities of their EUR80 billion of bilateral loans pooled by the European Commission."

The downgrade follows rumors Friday which suggested Greece could soon leave the eurozone. The troubled country would likely reintroduce its own currency, the drachma, sources said.

Shares of National Bank of Greece (NYSE: NBG) on the NYSE are down 1.4 percent Monday.

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