Bond credit rating

Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on Greece's four systemic banks - Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank and Piraeus Bank - to positive from stable on Thursday, following the investment grade it gave Greek bonds on December 1.

Greek bonds outperformed their eurozone counterparts considerably on Monday, with the 5-year Greek note even matching Spanish paper, having received a boost from Greece's upgrade by Fitch Ratings on Friday night.

Fitch Ratings added itself on Friday night to the list of rating agencies that have reverted Greece to investment grade, raising its sovereign credit rating to BBB- from BB+.

What is more, Fitch said the Greek rating also has a positive outlook, which may well mean a further upgrade is on the horizon.

Fitch Ratings was added on Friday night to the rating agencies that have reverted Greece to investment grade, as it raised Greece's sovereign credit rating to BBB- from BB+.

What is more, Fitch said the Greek rating also has a positive outlook, that may well mean a further upgrade is on its way for Greece.

It is widely expected that Greek debt will finally return to investment grade for the first time since 2010. Some minor credit rating agencies have already gone ahead with the upgrade, though none of the "big four" - DBRS, Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's - have done so yet.

The decision late on Friday by German credit rating agency Scope Ratings to upgrade Greek debt to BBB-, that is, investment grade, comes on the heels of a similar decision by Japanese firm R&I and provides hopes that the "big four" ratings firms recognized by the European Central Bank - Fitch, Moody's, Standard & Poor's and DBRS - will move in the same direction, bestowing an investment

Japan gave an important vote of confidence to Athens, as its rating agency Rating and Investment Information (R&I) is now the first to attribute Greece investment grade, after the upgrade to BBB- with stable prospects (from BB+ with stable prospects previously) on Monday.

Standard & Poor's refrained from granting investment grade to the Greek economy on Friday, but showed it intends to do so in its next rating action, as it upgraded Greece's outlook from "Stable" to "Positive," in a move largely expected by markets.

Ljubljana – Creditreform Rating, an European credit rating agency, has affirmed Slovenia’s AA- credit rating with a stable outlook. It says that Slovenia has a strong economic environment, a flexible labour market while its private sector’s indebtedness is low, which should contribute to the country’s post-Covid recovery.

Ljubljana – Rating agency Standard & Poor’s affirmed on Friday Slovenia’s AA- rating with a stable outlook. The step acknowledges that Slovenia “remains a stable country in the long run despite the difficult situation due to Covid-19”, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday.