Fitch Upgrades Greece

Fitch Ratings raised Greece’s sovereign credit rating by one notch on Friday and said general government debt sustainability would improve on sustained economic growth and reduced political risks, Reuters reported. The ratings agency upgraded Greece’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to ‘B’ from ‘B-’ and kept its outlook positive. Greece’s track record of general government primary surpluses and additional fiscal measures legislated to take effect through 2020 will also help the credit profile of the debt-laden south-eastern European nation, Fitch said. But for Greece—which has been the recipient of the EU’s economic intervention since 2010, as it faced a massive debt crisis—it is a welcome sign that its recovery is gaining traction, after it posted three straight quarters of economic growth for the first time since 2006. Last month, fellow agency S&P Global Ratings made a similar move, boosting its rating on Greece while still leaving it below investment grade. Moody’s, the other major rating agency, most recently assigned Greece a Caa2 rating in its last action on June 23, according to Thomson Reuters.