S&P To Greece's Rescue (NBG)

Standard & Poor’s may have just come to the rescue of Greece in a better or more clear manner than what the European nations have tried to do all along.  The ratings agency has just affirmed Greece’s “BBB/A-2” ratings.  While the outlook is “Negative” the country is off of credit watch.  While it was not mentioned in the ratings call, the National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is reacting favorably as the proxy for the country.

S&P views the Greek government deficit reduction package as appropriate to meet its 2010 budget targets given the deterioration of its growth prospects in the year.

S&P affirmed the BBB+/A-2 sovereign credit ratings on Greece and is removing those ratings from CreditWatch Negative.  This outlook reflects the view of the Greek government’s ability to sustain reform momentum in the medium term.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is now up 2.8% a $4.44 and we have already seen 3.9 million shares trade in less than two hours since the market opened.

JON C. OGG