Credit rating agency Fitch has affirmed Malta’s long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Rating at ‘A’ with stable outlooks, NewsNow reported. The issue ratings on Malta’s senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds have also been affirmed at ‘A’. Fitch has also affirmed the country ceiling at ‘AAA’ and the short-term foreign currency IDR at ‘F1’. In its analysis, the agency described the gradual improvement of Malta’s public finances, strong economic growth and lower nominal interest expenditure as the key rating drivers. Fitch expects the headline fiscal deficit to fall to 1.8% of GDP in 2015, with total revenue/GDP reaching a record high of 42.8%.
