German rating agency Scope Ratings reaffirmed Greece’s BBB- rating on Friday and upgraded the country’s economic outlook to positive.
According to the agency’s analysts, “The outlook upgrade is attributed to the reduction in debt, the enhanced resilience of the banking system, and favorable momentum in structural reforms. However, the very high public debt and ongoing structural weaknesses of the economy continue to weigh heavily on Greece’s evaluation.”
Scope expects Greek debt levels to keep decreasing in the coming years, a key factor behind last August’s upgrade of Greece to investment grade.
Moreover, the consolidation of the banking system, reduction of bad loans, and full privatization of systemic banks have bolstered the sector’s resilience, the analysts noted.
Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis commented, “Today’s upgrade of Greece’s debt outlook from stable to positive by Scope Ratings, following a similar upgrade by Standard & Poor’s last April, strongly affirms the success of our economic policies and the positive prospects for the Greek economy.”