Up two notches: S&P raises Greece’s credit rating

PARIS:

Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday raised Greece’s credit rating by two notches to CCC+ after the debt-laden country began paying billions of euros to its creditors and reopened banks.

While rating remains in junk territory after the rise from CCC-, the scenario of Athens defaulting on its debts was no longer inevitable in coming year and thus the chances of Greece having to pull out of the euro were reduced, said S&P.

The announcement came after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed that Greece was no longer in default on its loans after remitting about two billion euros to make up for missed repayments. The payment was made possible by a 7.16-billion euro emergency bridge loan granted to Greece on Friday by the EU so it could pay both the IMF and an additional 4.2 billion euros due to the European Central Bank on Monday.

The ratings agency said the forecast was stable, meaning no more changes are expected imminently. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23^rd,  2015.

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