Lebanon Slammed by Double Downgrade as Bond Default Looms
- Debt restructuring all but inevitable in Lebanon, Moody’s says
- Government in Beirut holding talks with the IMF to assess debt
Tower blocks line a highway seen through the window of an abandoned building in Beirut, Lebanon.
Photographer: Patrick Mouzawak/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Lebanon was downgraded deeper into junk by two of the three biggest credit rating companies Friday as the nation’s bondholders braced for a potential default next month.
S&P Global Ratings cut the country’s long-term foreign currency rating to CC, following a similar reduction by Moody’s Investors Service to Ca earlier in the day. That puts Lebanon’s rating below the likes of Argentina, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.