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Fitch cuts Greece rating

15 January 2011 09:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev â€“ APA-Economics. Fitch ratings agency on Friday said it had cut Greece’s long-term debt rating by one notch to BB+ from BBB-, dropping the eurozone member’s debt from investment grade to speculative or "junk" level. "The downgrade acknowledges that while Greece’s economic and fiscal performance under the EU-IMF programme has in many respects exceeded expectations, its heavy public debt burden renders fiscal solvency highly vulnerable to adverse shocks," Fitch Ratings said in a statement. Fitch warned further downgrades were possible.
In May, Greece had to seek a 110-billion-euro (150-billion-dollar) bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund after financial markets turned against it and it could no longer raise fresh funds at sustainable rates of interest. In return for the rescue package, Greece has adopted draconian austerity measures over strong popular resistance but critics say it still has much to do to balance its public finances. The painful austerity drive has brought widespread pay and pension cuts and thousands of layoffs while the economy is sinking deeper into recession.