Just before midnight on Good Friday came the one-tier upgrade -with a steady outlook- from the leading international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s.
The upgrade to BB+ from BB, is a positive surprise for the whole of Europe, because the American agency announced that it is improving its rating for Greece, in a very critical and negative conjuncture: in time of war , in the aftermath of the pandemic and in the midst of a huge energy and social crisis.
It does mean, however, that in this very environment, the country is still managing and moving upwards showing resilience, instead of the “free fall” that many feared or predicted in this crisis as well.
It is the 2nd upgrade after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A few weeks earlier, in April, the Greek economy was upgraded by the Canadian company DBRS.
Steps are being taken despite the enormous uncertainty in the European economy. The new upgrade comes after the country’s impressively better-than-expected fiscal performance, as -according to Eurostat- 2021 ended with a 3 billion euro smaller primary deficit than the government had forecast in the budget.
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The agency even maintains a stable perspective.
This development brings Greece almost one “step” below the investment level: the next upgrade level by S&P’s is now the “BBB-“, i.e. bonds with sufficient creditworthiness.
This development allows the government to make plans for a new issue of a 5-year or 7-year bond, possibly immediately after Easter – if international conditions favor.
