Rating action
According to a press release, “Scope Ratings GmbH (Scope) has today affirmed the Hellenic Republic (Greece)’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt-category ratings at BBB-, in both local- and in foreign-currency, and revised the Outlooks to Positive, from Stable. The short-term issuer ratings are affirmed at S-2 in local and in foreign currency, with Outlook Stable.
The revision of the Outlooks to Positive for Greece’s long-term credit ratings reflects Scope’s expectation of a continued reduction in Greece’s general government debt ratio over the coming years. Greece’s anticipated public-debt decline, which was one of the drivers of Scope’s announcement of the upgrade of Greece to investment grade last August, is driven by favourable debt dynamics and a further decline of the headline budget deficit, including stronger primary surpluses than previously foreseen. In addition, the clean-up of the banking system, the reduction of non-performing loans (NPLs), alongside privatisations of systemic banks, support financial-system resilience. Finally, the adoption of structural reform and investments, facilitated by European recovery and multi-annual funding programmes, bolster the economy’s resilience and growth potential.”
