 "All EU ratings threatened by crisis: Moody's")
**Washington:**US rating agency Moody’s todaywarned that all European Union sovereign ratings werethreatened by the current financial crisis.“The continued rapid escalation of the euro areasovereign and banking credit crisis is threatening the creditstanding of all European sovereigns,” the agency said in a newcomment.
Moody’s said, “in the absence of policy measures thatstabilise market conditions over the short term, or thoseconditions stabilising for any other reason, credit risk willcontinue to rise.”
Greece, Ireland and Portugal all suffered ratingdowngrades that accelerated unsustainable rises in theirborrowing costs over the past two years.Spain and Italy, which has opened its books tointernational auditors, have also come under pressure inrecent days.
France recently announced deep budget cuts in a bid toretain its top Triple-A rating status.Economists say it is struggling to hold on to the topranking it shares with the stronger euro zone economies ofGermany, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Luxembourg.
Moody’s noted that political uncertainties in Greece and Italy and the worsening of the economic outlook across theeuro area had given rise to “the likelihood of even morenegative scenarios.“The probability of multiple defaults…by euro areacountries is no longer negligible,” the agency warned.“In Moody’s view, the longer the liquidity crisiscontinues, the more rapidly the probability of defaults willcontinue to rise.”
The agency also cautioned that a series of defaults wouldalso “significantly increase” the likelihood of one or moremembers not simply defaulting, but leaving the eurozone. “Moody’s believes that any multiple-exit scenario, in
other words, a fragmentation of the euro would have negativerepercussions for the credit standing of all euro area and EUsovereigns,” the agency added.
AFP
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