Fitch ratings agency announced downgrades for the credit ratings of five euro zone countries on January 27.

The ratings of both Italy and Spain were lowered by two notches, while the credit ratings of Cyprus, Belgium and Slovenia were reduced one, according to BBC. The ratings agency stated that the nations did not have the resilience needed to cope with the region's debt situation, Bloomberg reports.

Earlier in January, fellow ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered the credit ratings of nine of the 17 euro zone nations, according to BBC. Greece has been negotiating with people representing the troubled nation's bondholders in an attempt to arrive at a compromise that will enable the country to obtain another round of bailout funding.

"The divergence in monetary and credit conditions across the euro zone and near-term economic outlook highlight the greater vulnerability" that the nations have in the case that they encounter further financial challenges, Fitch stated, Bloomberg reports. "These sovereigns do not, in Fitch’s view, accrue the full benefits of the euro’s reserve-currency status."

BBC reports that the downgrade of the five nations comes after the agency put them on review for possible ratings cuts in December.