Moody's says Greek collateral deals are negative for rating

A series of agreements forcing Greece to provide collateral in return for aid from foreign governments would be negative for the credit ratings of Greece and other troubled euro zone states, Moody's ratings agency said.

The agency also said such deals showed a lack of will in some euro zone countries that put more pressure on Germany and France to take stronger steps to support the euro project.

Austria, the Netherlands and Slovakia said on Friday they wanted collateral on their loans to Greece after Finland secured such a commitment, but Greek officials have said they were not talking to countries other than Finland about such a plan.

Moody's warned that the pursuit of such agreements could delay the next tranche of aid for Greece and threaten to cause a default on payments on its debt.

It said a proliferation of collateral agreements would also limit the availability of funds for future bailout programs, and that for these reasons it expected other euro area members ultimately to reject the Finland-Greece deal.

"The tentative Finnish-Greek collateral accord raises concerns about the willingness and ability of some euro area policymakers to implement measures that may prove necessary to preserve the stability of the European Monetary Union," it said.

"This reticence places greater pressure on Germany and France to stake out a strongly supportive stance toward the euro area, with more concrete and immediate effect than the proposals the two countries made last week, in order to shore up the single-currency project."