BEIRUT: Standard & Poor’s downgrade of three leading Lebanese banks is unlikely to have an impact on the prices of bonds or interest rates, bankers said Thursday, but they called the decision a clear warning that Lebanon needed to get its act together and implement fiscal reforms.

“I don’t think this downgrade of the credit rating will have an effect on the price of sovereign bonds or interest rates. However, this is a reminder of the burden the banks have to bear in financing the fiscal deficit and supporting the stability of public financing,” Nassib Ghobril, the head of economic research at Byblos Bank, told The Daily Star.

S&P on Wednesday lowered to ‘B-’ from ‘B’ its long-term counterparty credit ratings on three Lebanese banks – Bank Audi SAL-Audi Saradar Group, BankMed SAL and Blom Bank SAL – following a similar rating action on Lebanon. [Link]