NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Two debt-rating agencies slashed WorldCom Inc.'s $30 billion debt rating to "junk" status, as the phone service provider's banks asked for the first time that it put up collateral to secure $5 billion it is seeking in credit lines, according to a report published Friday.

The Wall Street Journal said the unusual three-notch downgrade by Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings raised speculation the nation's second-largest telecom company will eventually need to restructure under the protection of the bankruptcy courts.

But WorldCom said it won't seek that protection, having sufficient financing for the foreseeable future, according to the article.

The paper said that WorldCom Chief Financial Officer Scott Sullivan and other executives spent hours on the phone with Moody's officials, pleading WorldCom's case. But Moody's apparently was not convinced.

The Journal also said that Sullivan spoke with Standard & Poor's Corp., and the rating agency indicated WorldCom's debt remains subjects to further downgrade. Last month, S&P said it may cut the company's long-term credit rating from "BBB," its second lowest investment grade.

Shares of WorldCom (WCOM: down $0.14 to $2.01, Research, Estimates) fell as much as 15 percent Thursday, but recouped some of their decline after the company said it received a waiver through May 23 from its banks on its $2 billion accounts receivable securitization program, and that the downgrade "has no impact" on the company's liquidity. At the close, shares were 14 cents lower at $2.01.