By Andrea Hargraves 
Fitch upgraded the rating on Friday evaluation Portugal was announced in a statement from “BBB+” to “A-” and maintained a stable outlook.
Hey evaluation It is an assessment conducted by financial rating agencies, and it has a significant impact on the financing of countries and companies, as it evaluates credit risks. The North American agency thus becomes the second agency to rate Portuguese sovereign debt at ‘A-‘, after the DBRS did so in July.
Finance Minister Fernando Medina expressed his delight at Portugal’s best sovereign debt risk assessment in 12 years, considering that the assessments conducted by financial rating agencies confirm the importance of the government’s strategy.
“Portugal achieves the best assessment of its public debt risks in 12 years” He wrote in a statement issued minutes after Fitch announced the increase in the value of the deposit evaluation From Portugal. Medina defended, “The succession of positive assessments by risk rating agencies confirms the importance of the debt reduction strategy promoted by the government, with the aim of defending the economy.”
According to the responsible minister, “the recovery in position among the economies with the lowest public debt risks translates into lower interest rates for Portuguese families and companies.”
Fitch highlights the ‘resilience’ of the banking sector
Fitch justified its decision by the “continuous” decline in the ratio of public debt to GDP and the development of the budget balance, also highlighting the economic prospects and “resilience” of the banking sector.
Fitch expects the ratio of public debt to GDP to remain in a sharp downward trend, expecting it to decline to 104.3% this year, from 112.4% at the end of 2022, and to reach 96.5% in 2025. It indicates that more than 38 percentage points of GDP compared to the pandemic-related cap in 2020 is the highest among those classified as Category A SWFs.
The agency also highlights that this year’s fiscal results should be better than expected in the spring stabilization program.
In April, Fitch left Portugal’s sovereign debt rating unchanged, after improving the rating in October last year. evaluation Portugal from “BBB” to “BBB+” with a stable outlook.
The next agency planning to comment on Portugal is Moody’s, on May 19.