ATHENS, Greece — Standard and Poor’s on Wednesday relegated Greek government bonds to the deeper end of junk status, cutting the debt-crippled country’s credit rating by two notches to CC and saying a new downgrade is likely. The international ratings agency said a proposed restructuring of Greece’s debt load under a second international bailout deal worth Û109 billion ($157 billion) would amount to a selective default — a rating that, while humiliating, is expected to have limited practical consequences. Both of the other major ratings agencies have said much the same.

A Standard and Poor’s statement also said the possibility of a future Greek default is likely to remain high.