Weak Growth: (S&P) Agency Strips Netherlands' AAA Rating

[unhappycamper]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/ratings-agency-strips-netherlands-of-top-aaa-rating-a-936345.html



The Netherlands lost its top credit rating on Friday as S&P moved to downgrade the country as a result of its weak economy. Holland had previously been a stable point in the euro crisis. Only 10 countries, including Germany, still retain AAA status worldwide.

Weak Growth: Agency Strips Netherlands' AAA Rating
November 29, 2013 – 12:24 PM

The list of euro-zone countries with immaculate credit ratings took another hit this week. On Friday morning, Standard & Poor's (S&P) removed the Netherlands' top rating, downgrading the country to AA+. This leaves only three countries in the common currency area with the best grade of AAA: Finland, Luxembourg and Germany. Two years ago, six countries still had that rating.

S&P stated the downgrade resulted from weaker prospects for economic growth than previously anticipated. The agency said the atmosphere would make it more difficult for the government to reach its fiscal targets. Despite a "stable" outlook for the Netherlands, the company said the development of the country's per capita gross domestic product is "persistently lower" than nations with similarly high levels of economic development. The other two major rating agencies, Moody's and Fitch, have also threatened the Netherlands with a downgrade.

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Dijsselbloem has stated that he doesn't think the move by S&P will have any substantial effect on the interest rates the country pays on its debt. In a statement released Friday in The Hague, Dijsselbloem said he was "disappointed" by the downgrade, but that he didn't expect it to have any impact on interest rates because the markets were already expecting the change.

Like Germany, the Netherlands had long enjoyed a solid reputation for its stability in the euro crisis -- an image that could take a hit as a result of the downgrade. France, meanwhile, lost its top rating a year ago and was further downgraded early this month by S&P.

[Demeter]

1. S&P will be the death of the euro