Fitch in new downgrade warning

Greece needs a long-lasting funding agreement to avoid having its credit rating downgraded, a Fitch representative warned on Tuesday.

?We believe that an agreement between Greece and its European partners will eventually be reached, as [a Greek exit from the eurozone] would have a large cost for both sides,? said Ed Parker, Fitch?s senior director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at the Global Markets Forum held by Reuters. However, he added that ?a failure to strike a lasting agreement would lead to a credit downgrade.?

Meanwhile a European Commission spokeswoman said on Tuesday that no talks have started on a third bailout package for Athens and the only point that Brussels is focusing its attention on at present is the implementation of what has already been agreed for the assessment of Greece?s progress to be successfully completed.