MADRID (Standard&Poor's) June 13, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today lowered its long-term sovereign credit ratings on the Hellenic Republic (Greece) to 'CCC' from 'B'. The short-term ratings were affirmed at 'C'. At the same time, the ratings were removed from CreditWatch negative. The outlook is negative. (See "Long-Term Sovereign Rating On Greece Cut To 'CCC'; Outlook Negative," published today on RatingsDirect.) We believe that this downgrade could have a negative impact on the creditworthiness of the four Greek banks and one related international subsidiary that we rate, namely: National Bank of Greece S.A. (B/Watch Neg/C) and its strategically important Bulgarian subsidiary United Bulgarian Bank A.D. (B/Watch Neg/C), EFG Eurobank Ergasias S.A. (B/Watch Neg/C), Alpha Bank A.E. (B/Watch