Moody's Investors Service

Greece's credit profile is constrained by the country's elevated debt burden, moderate growth prospects and weak banking system, Moody's Investors Service said in an annual report Thursday, adding that the new government's implementation of reforms agreed with lenders would bolster growth.

Moody's changed its deposit rating on Greek banks Alpha, Eurobank and National to positive from stable, citing expectations of further improvement in asset quality, the ratings agency said on Tuesday.
Moody's said stronger than 2 percent annual economic growth in the coming years would support banks' efforts to reduce their large stock of sour loans.

National Bank of Greece is eager to make the most of the favorable climate among foreign investors toward the country in the last couple of months, and especially after the election result, proceeding immediately with the issue of a Tier II bond to boost its capital.

Moody's decision to downgrade Turkey's credit rating is incompatible with the country's fundamental economic indicators, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance said early on June 15.

International rating agency Moody's has qualified as "credit positive" for the securitization of nonperforming exposures Greece's new framework for the protection of the primary residence of borrowers.

The yield on the five-year bond dropped to historic lows on Monday, while the new 10-year note also recorded a significant improvement, drawing strength from the particularly favorable climate in the eurozone periphery.

Greece will issue a 10-year bond in the coming days to raise about 2 billion euros, bankers told Reuters on Monday, after a two-notch ratings upgrade from Moody's late last week.

It will be the second debt sale since Greece exited its third international bailout in August and the first 10-year bond after a decade. [Reuters]

Greece's benchmark 10-year government bond yields dropped to their lowest since 2006 on Monday after Moody's raised its rating late last week, bolstering investor optimism towards the eurozone's most indebted country.

Moody's on Friday lifted Greece's issuer ratings to B1 from B3, citing the effectiveness of the country's reform program.

Rating agency Moody's announced on Friday it has upgraded Greece's sovereign credit rating by two notches to "B1" with a stable outlook, from the "B3" rating with a positive outlook it had granted Greece just over a year earlier.

Economists expected this upgrade to assist Greece in its next foray in the markets, probably with a 10-year bond.

Moody's Investors Service raised Greece's local and foreign currency issuer ratings to B1 from B3 on Friday, citing the effectiveness of its reform program.

"While progress has been halting at times, with targets delayed or missed, the reform momentum appears to be increasingly entrenched, with good prospects for further progress and low risk of reversal," Moody's said.