Financial Times
March 7, 2011
The Greek government has rounded on Moody’s after the agency slashed Greece’s credit rating by three notches to “highly speculative” status, highlighting a growing risk that the country will have to restructure its public debt.
The Greek finance ministry reacted angrily on Monday, saying the downgrade was “completely unjustified”. Moody’s had focused “exclusively on the downside risks” while ignoring recent progress with fiscal consolidation, it said. “Decisions such as Moody’s today can initiate damaging self-fulfilling prophecies.”
The credit rating agency cut its rating for Greek government bonds from Ba1 to B1, with a negative outlook.
Moody’s said that reforms needed to stabilise Greece’s large public debt, which is projected to hit 160 per cent of gross domestic product in 2013, “remain very ambitious and are subject to further risks”, while the likelihood of a default had risen.
“Over time the risk of implementation may grow and a solution that requires private-sector creditors to bear losses may become more appealing,” it said.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment