Fitch Ratings downgrades ratings

The International rating agency Fitch Ratings downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of five countries of the eurozone. This time Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Spain and Slovenia fell under the agency’s displeasure. The move comes after the five states were placed on Rating Watch Negative (RWN) on December last year.

Long-term credit rating of Belgium was cut by one notch from "AA +" to "AA", Cyprus got 'BBB-' instead of 'BBB', Italy was downgraded from "A +" to "A-". Ratings of Spain and Slovenia were down to "A" from "AA-".

As for short-term ratings, Belgium maintained its level as «F1 +», Cyprus kept its «F3». Rating of Italy was reduced to «F2», Spain and Slovenia were given «F1» (from «F1 +»).

The outlook for all ratings is "negative". It means the agency indicated a 50% chance of further downgrade in the next two years.

The downgraded ratings of Cyprus, Italy, Spain and Slovenia were caused by possible deterioration in the banking sector in these countries, increasing rates of public debt, as well as the deteriorating economic outlook for Spain.

"Negative" rating represented by the agency can further affect the situation in the eurozone and worsen the crisis.