On 5 January 2010, the credit rating agency Fitch Group stated that the call for an Icesave election by the Icelandic president, had created "a new wave of political, economic and financial uncertainty", and characterized his decision as a "step back in the attempts to re-establish normal financial relations with the rest of the world", that now caused a further downgrade of Iceland's credit rating from BBB- to BB+. The downgrade of its rating to BB+, meant Iceland became categorized as a non-investment-grade country (also known as junk status), which by effect made it impossible for Iceland to continue borrow money from the free capital markets, and thus became dependent on receiving external bailout loans to meet its short term financial needs. Mark Flanagan, head of an IMF mission to Reykjavik, made this comment 10 January 2010, about Iceland's immediate need to receive cash through an IMF bailout loan: "The fund has never had a formal condition on Icesave completion. Never. How Icesave affected the timing of the review was indirect and related to the broader financing for the programme. Because other creditors of Iceland made it a condition, we had to wait until they were satisfied. The dispute between Iceland, Britain and the Netherlands concerning Icesave complicated efforts by Iceland to secure additional external financing for the programme from other participating countries. Would non-passage of "Icesave bill 2" affect financing assurances? I don't know how these things will play out. I'm not willing to speculate."