S&P Global Ratings

Standard & Poor's upgraded the long-term credit rating of the four systemic banks and Aegean Baltic Bank on Thursday, placing National and Eurobank one step before investment grade and, respectively, Alpha Bank and Piraeus two notches below investment grade.

Standard & Poor's has upgraded Bank of Cyprus' long-term issuer rating to BB+, just one notch below investment grade status, and assigned a positive outlook.

Cyprus faces a challenging time as it navigates plans for a foray into the financial markets.

Fitch Ratings affirmed Greece's credit rating at "BBB-" with a stable outlook, maintaining the rating it had assigned six months ago when Greek bonds were elevated to investment grade.

The previous upgrade, following S&P's similar move in October 2023, facilitated the inclusion of Greek bonds in major international indices monitored by large institutional investors.

The international rating agency Standard & Poor's has reaffirmed Bulgaria's long-term and short-term credit rating at 'BBB/A-2' in both foreign and local currency, maintaining a positive outlook.

Credit rating upgrades by major rating companies show that "we are on the right track," Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said, referring to the economic program the government is implementing.

Moody's began upgrading the Greek economy by two notches just six months ago, on September 15.

Moody's remained on Friday the only major rating agency to maintain Greece outside the investment-grade states, as it affirmed the country's credit rating at "Ba1", with a stable outlook.

Last September the agency had raised Greece's rating two notches, from "Ba3". It has therefore maintained Greece one notch before investment level.

Mytilineos Holdings S.A. became the first Greek company to benefit from Greece's return to investment grade in the past few days, as the listed group is now just a step away from regaining its own investment grade, since S&P has just rated it BB+, from BB previously.

The door is now wide open for the entry of quality and long-term investors, who manage trillions of dollars, into the Greek bonds market: Bloomberg Index Services, a global provider of government bond indices, has become the first to include Greek bonds among the elite of the debt markets, announcing that 17 Greek bonds worth 73 billion euros are to be included in its index series as of January