The Minister of Finance, Fernando Medina, today welcomed the rise in the rating of the Portuguese sovereign debt from ‘BBB’ to ‘BBB+’, with a stable outlook, calling it “excellent news” given the rise in interest rates in the euro.
“The rise in the ‘rating’ [notação] portuguese yesterday [sexta-feira] by Standard and Poor’s is a good move for Portugal, it is, in fact, excellent news for Portuguese families and companies”, declared Fernando Medina, in reaction to the announcement by the largest financial rating agency, S&P.
“This ensures that Portugal is doing its part so that interest rates rise less than they would if we did not have the budgetary discipline that we have had,” the minister added upon reaching the second day of an informal meeting. of the EU finance ministers, in the framework of the Czech Presidency of the Council, in Prague.
After the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to increase its three key interest rates by 75 basis points, the second consecutive increase this year, the official pointed out that the announcement now being made by S&P means that, “at a time when rates rise”, Portugal manages to ensure “lower levels than other countries or even gain margin so that interest rates rise less than what is happening in other countries”.
“This is of great importance because it is a benefit that later translates directly into companies and families, because, in essence, the financing of the Portuguese economy is linked, first of all, to what happens in the Portuguese Republic and, therefore, what happens in the Portuguese Republic, then it is good news for families, good news for companies and good news for the country”, he reinforced.
For Fernando Medina, this “is also the recognition that the budget reduction strategy that Portugal is following is the correct strategy”.
“S&P recognizes that this improvement in the ‘rating’, that is, the improvement in the credibility of our debt, is an improvement to a situation that has not occurred for more than 10 years”, being “the result not only of the strong growth of the Portuguese economy, but also the trajectory of sustained reduction of the debt that we have been pursuing, faster and more intense than that of the other European countries, and also the investment prospects in terms of the use of community funds”, justified the minister in charge , in these statements to Portuguese journalists in Prague.
On Friday, the financial rating agency S&P raised the ‘rating’ of Portuguese sovereign debt from ‘BBB’ to ‘BBB+’, with a stable outlook.
The S&P assessment comes after DBRS raised its rating on Portuguese sovereign debt to ‘A’ (low) on August 26, with a stable outlook.
The ‘rating’ is an assessment attributed by the financial rating agencies, with a great impact on the financing of countries and companies, since it evaluates the credit risk.
Source: Observadora
