Why S&P Isn’t Downgrading Spain or Italy

``Why did you not downgrade other sovereigns apart from Portugal, Greece, and Ireland? Are these three the only potential clients of the ESM?... We currently consider those three sovereigns to be the only countries likely to borrow from ESM. Greece and Ireland are already subject to a multilateral support mechanism involving conditional European and IMF financing, and Portugal on April 6 announced its request for European financial support. Other sovereigns that some commentators have hinted at as potential ESM borrowers include Spain and Italy, but we believe both are currently unlikely to request assistance from the ESM.''