CREDIT RATINGS
Unscheduled Moody’s visit points to certainty of downgrade
SA maintains a negative outlook because the country’s politics remain a concern, Moody’s 2018 Sovereign Outlook shows
A sovereign credit ratings downgrade of SA’s local currency debt by Moody’s Investors Service is almost a certainty as the agency issued a statement on Wednesday, painting SA in an unfavourable light. Moody’s 2018 Sovereign Outlook showed that, despite a stable outlook for sovereign credit worthiness globally, SA maintained a negative outlook because the country’s politics remained a concern. Economist Thabi Leoka said on Wednesday that a Moody’s delegation had an out-of-schedule visit to SA this week, highlighting the agency’s concerns. Moody’s and the Reserve Bank declined to comment. Leoka said a downgrade by Moody’s was inevitable. This was expected in two weeks. In June, Moody’s cut both SA’s local and foreign currency denominated debt assessments to one level above subinvestment grade, or junk status, citing risks to growth and fiscal strength because of the country’s political outlook. Moody’s is the only agency that has SA above junk status. A downgrade would result in SA’s ...
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