Moody's revises Greece outlook to 'positive' on reform progress
Moody's revised Greece's outlook to "positive" from "stable", citing signs reforms are strengthening economic and fiscal resilience. The move comes as Greece is likely to repay €53 billion of first-bailout loans.
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(Adds details from Moody's report, background throughout) Sept 18 (Reuters) — Global ratings agency Moody's on Friday revised Greece's outlook to "positive" from "stable", citing signs that structural reforms are strengthening the country's economic and fiscal resilience. 82 billion) of first-bailout loans granted in 2010 by euro zone countries two years ahead of schedule, helped by strong public finances and economic growth. "Greater resilience would support the government's capacity to sustain this multi-decade process of debt reduction, including by continuing to prepay some of its crisis-era debt," Moody's said in a statement.
Since its 2009-2018 financial crisis, the country has consistently exceeded fiscal targets, helped by a crackdown on tax evasion and the rapid spread of electronic payments. 9% of GDP last year. Moody's affirmed Greece's "Baa3" sovereign rating, citing the strong reform progress and improved public finances, despite high debt and external imbalances. Peer agencies S&P and Fitch have Greece's outlook at "stable", with ratings at "BBB".
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