South Africa’s credit rating at risk of being downgraded
If South Africa’s credit rating is downgraded by Moody’s, there are steps South Africans can take to ensure it will not affect their savings.
If South Africa’s credit rating is downgraded by Moody’s, there are steps South Africans can take to ensure it will not affect their savings.
The FT describes South African’s sovereign debt rating as “hanging by a thread” as Moody’s is the only ratings agency that still has the country’s debt rating above junk.
Hundreds of billions in bailouts for Eskom will probably widen the budget deficit to the biggest since the financial crisis, threatening SA’s credit rating.
For the last two years, South Africa has lived in fear that Moody’s will drop its debt rating to junk and trigger a meltdown. Here’s another take.
While lots of ideas are floating around, the problem is that Eskom is fundamentally in trouble whichever way you look at it.
Credit rating agency Moody’s has to be among the most patient of its peers when it comes to its gradings of South Africa.
Azar Jammine of Econometrix warns that the SA political situation remains extremely fluid with the potential to cause enormous damage.
S&P will only deliver another scheduled in six months time, which gives the country time to right the economic and political wrongs, but Fitch is the next credit rating hurdle.
S&P affirmed South Africa’s investment grade credit rating but said the outlook still remains negative.
Moody’s made it clear that for South Africa to maintain its credit rating at Baa2, it would need to increase its GDP – that is, simply not fall into recession.