The reduction comes after a month ago S&P downgraded its credit rating for SBB to BB+, with a negative outlook from BBB, which sent the stock plummeting on the stock market. This reduction meant that the company lost its "investment grade" status.

In the new downgrade, S&P notes that SBB risks fines from the Swedish financial authority and that the recalculation of certain items in the report for the first quarter of 2023 reduces transparency at a crucial moment – leading to a deterioration in investor confidence. These factors together weigh on the company's future prospects, creditworthiness and liquidity, S&P believes, something that is reported by Nyhetsbyrån Direkt.

Furthermore, S&P writes that SBB's sale of the JM shares, which was done for less than half the price SBB paid in 2021, shows that the financial difficulties in the company have accelerated in recent weeks.

"In our view, SBB is currently facing a challenging and deteriorating ability to access capital. We are therefore revising our liquidity assessment to less than adequate," S&P writes in a comment.