Chr. Staikouras: We are creating a clean and realistic corridor for obtaining an investment grade in 2023

High on the government’s agenda is the acquisition of the investment grade and the time to achieve this goal is set in 2023. As characteristically states, among others, in the APE-MPE, the Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras “we form a clean and realistic corridor for obtaining investment grade in 2023 “.

It is no coincidence, however, that the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself at every opportunity states that the main goal of the country is to acquire an investment grade as soon as possible and refers to the risks that await in the process of obtaining it. In particular, he stressed in the announcement of the latest package of measures, that “unfortunately, our country has not yet fully recovered from the 10-year economic crisis. We have not yet reached the coveted investment level. And speculators will always lurk to take advantage of our weakness.” .

The Greek economy has entered the final stretch of its exit from the regime of enhanced supervision and as noted by all government officials, this stake is significant and should not be questioned with wrong moves.

The final consultation between the financial staff and the representatives of the creditors (ECB, Commission, ESM) at the level of technical levels for the exit from the enhanced supervision starts next week. The main aim is to resolve any political issues that may arise in the course of the contacts that the heads of the lenders will have with the Minister of Finance.

This meeting is scheduled for April 6. The aim of all is to close the outstanding issues as soon as possible in order to facilitate the decision to leave the enhanced supervision to be taken by the Eurogroup, but also by the Commission, as well as for the disbursement of the two installments by the ESM.

In the course of the country’s exit from the enhanced supervision, but also the acquisition of the investment grade, every positive label from the rating agencies or even more every upgrade adds “points”.

As Christos Staikouras notes in his statement to APE-MPE, “as the Ministry of Finance, since the beginning of our term, we have been working, consistently and methodically, to strengthen our economy. Strengthening which, among other things, will lead to the acquisition “Objective to be achieved through the achievement of high and sustainable economic growth, the exit of the country from the status of Enhanced Supervision, the achievement of a single-digit percentage of non-performing loans in bank portfolios and fiscal stability”.

And the Minister of Finance concludes: “As reflected in the available data, we are moving in this direction, which is why the country, in the successive crises of the last two years, is constantly upgrading – with the most recent upgrade from the rating agency DBRS Morningstar, with “Greece is just one step away from the investment stage. By implementing a prudent and responsible fiscal policy, structural reforms and a far-sighted publishing policy, we are creating a clear and realistic corridor for obtaining an investment stage in 2023.”

It should be noted that negative factors in securing the investment rating are the geopolitical developments that make forecasts for the next day of the economy particularly difficult.

The Ministry of Finance considers that in addition to consistency and careful moves, an important role is played by the amount of cash, which reaches particularly high levels. According to a recent report by the Minister of Finance, they amount to 40 billion euros.

And all this, as reported in the Ministry of Finance, despite the ongoing international problems that arise. And as they characteristically note. “The Greek economy has shown for the last 2.5 years that it can withstand very difficult conditions, such as the war in Ukraine and the pandemic period.”

Finally, it should be noted that in the period 2020-2022 the total support package for households and businesses amounts to approximately 45 billion euros.

Source: AMPE