DBRS upgrades Greece's credit rating one notch

Canada-based DBRS Ratings upgraded Greece's main ratings one notch, from B to B (high), on Friday and maintained the positive trend, in an extraordinary review in the aftermath of last week's Eurogroup decision to ease the country's debt.

DBRS said it views the Eurogroup statement on Greece as warranting an extraordinary review of the sovereign rating. "The subsequent upgrade is underpinned by new medium-term debt relief measures and clarification on the size of the liquidity backstop included therein. DBRS views the debt relief as being supportive of public debt repayment capacity in the medium term. Following completion of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Third Economic Adjustment Program in August the liquidity backstop provides a precautionary funding buffer while Greece returns to bond issuance; and a portion of it is planned to be used to amortize debt," the...