Moody’s upgrades Greece’s rating to ‘Ba1’ from ‘Ba3’, cuts outlook to stable

Global ratings agency Moody’s on Friday upgraded Greece’s sovereign credit rating by two notches to ‘Ba1’ from ‘Ba3’, and lowered its outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘positive’.

“Greek economy, public finances, institutions, and the banking system are witnessing profound structural change that will support a continued material improvement in credit metrics and resilience to future potential shocks,” the agency said in a statement.

The agency expects an even faster reduction in the general government debt burden, almost declining close to 150% of its GDP as early as next year, while staying at high levels relative to global peers.

Earlier this week, a Reuters report, citing two government sources, said that Greece plans to raise up to 7 billion euros ($7.47 billion) from the debt markets in 2024 through new short- and long-term bond issues and will allow retail investors to participate in Treasury bills auctions.

Moody’s expects that the positive trend in foreign direct investment inflows to continue on the back of better economic prospects, ongoing privatizations and further structural reforms.

It expects the government to maintaina policy stance that builds a track record of continued economic and fiscal reform implementation over the next four years.

Greece lost its investment-grade credit rating, which implies a low risk of default, in 2010 when its decade-long debt crisis erupted, forcing the country to sign up for international bailouts worth about 260 billion euros ($278.17 billion) to stay afloat.

It emerged from the debt crisis in 2018 and was the only country in the eurozone with a “junk” rating.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Shreyaa Narayanan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)