Ratings agency Standard & Poor's would not automatically downgrade Ireland if Greece was to restructure its sovereign debt, the agency's lead analyst for Ireland said today.

Rival agency Moody's yesterday warned of a chain reaction of severe consequences for the 17-nation euro area if Greece was allowed to default next month, saying Portugal and Ireland could be downgraded from investment-grade to junk.

Asked if a Greek restructuring would not automatically lead to a S&P downgrade of Ireland, S&P analyst Trevor Cullinan said, "pretty much."

"We would have to assess the situation as and when that occurred. In terms of the ratings, we focus on the fundamentals, the medium to long-term macro-economic growth prospects, the fiscal position," he said.

Reuters