Greece’s credit rating position was upgraded by two places this week by a Japanese rating agency. The Rating and Investment Information (R&I) pushed Greece to a BB rating which is just two places below investment grade.
Finance minister Christos Staikouras said on Monday that while R&I was not recognised as a eligible agency by the European Central Bank, the upward move followed on a previous upgrade in April this year. He said the BB rating was just two points below the desired BBB rating which is a desireable signal for investors.
The minister the upgrade signalled a positive change in sentiment towards the Greek economy.
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R&I said that the Greek economy was expected to continue to grow at a steady rate of two percent in the new year. It said the public debt index was reduced thanks to the maintenance of high primary budget surpluses, however debt levels remained high but had also improved because of a large cash buffer and an favourable funding environment.
The investment agency said that Greek growth would be enhanced by the reduced taxes on corporations and households, an improved business sentiment and accelerated privatisations.
R&I said that the capital indexes of the four main lenders in the banking sector were above the requirements of monitoring authorities and that deposits were on the rise. It siad that the Hercules asset protection scheme would provide a significant reduction in bad loans and improve the credit sector’s position in funding the economy.