Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Greece's credit rating to BB-minus from BB-plus and says it is "highly likely" that the country will need to take further bailout loans beyond the ones it already has.

S&P's downgrade puts Greece's rating deeper into junk status. The agency says the government still has significant borrowing needs and will likely need more help beyond the current 110 billion euros ($155 billion) rescue loans it has received from the International Monetary Fund and other European Union countries that use the euro.

Greece was rescued from the brink of default last year by the three-year bailout package.