"Our negative outlook indicates that a downgrade to 'SD' could occur if Greece undertakes one or more debt restructurings or maturity extensions on terms that constitute distressed debt exchanges as defined by our criteria," S&P said. SD is A restructuring would likely "result in one or more defaults under our criteria."
The outlook on the rating is negative, S&P said. The rating company held its recovery rating at '4,' indicating it estimates bondholders would recover 30 percent to 50 percent of their investment.
A "financing gap has emerged in part because Greece's access to market financing in 2012 and possibly beyond, as envisaged in the current official EU/IMF program, is unlikely to materialize," the report said.