Their opinions matter principally because the European Central Bank (ECB) says it will not accept Greek bonds as collateral if the agencies declare they are in default.

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Penney filed this past Monday asking a Delaware judge to declare it is not in default on its bond agreements.

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But there was a catch: Investors needed at least 25% of so-called voting rights in a trust to declare a default and possibly compel the administrating trustee to enforce repurchases.

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But in order to investigate, potentially declare a default and maybe launch lawsuits, holders of the securities like Beal need at least 25% of the voting rights in a trust.

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In October 2010 she shocked Wall Street by sending BNY Mellon and Bank of America a notice of nonperformance, the first step in a process that could have allowed Patrick to declare a default on those bonds and sue BofA directly on behalf of the trusts.

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