Germany Retains `Stable’ Rating Outlook at Moody’s Amid Crisis
By Rainer Buergin
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — Germany retained a “stable” outlook at Moody’s Investors Service on its Aaa government bond ratings even as the financial crisis puts strains on public coffers, the rating company said today in an e-mailed report.
Moody’s, in a regular credit analysis, kept the “Aaa – stable” rating for Germany’s government bonds, the country ceiling and the bank deposit ceiling, both in foreign and local currency.
“Germany’s public debt payment capacity is strong and Moody’s anticipates no problems with regard to affordability or adverse debt dynamics, even with the impact of the economic slowdown likely to be felt on both sides of the government balance sheet,” said Moody’s analyst Alexander Kockerbeck.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government faces revenue shortfalls this year and will have to expand net borrowing in 2009 as the worst economic recession in at least 12 years takes its toll on the budget. Lawmakers last week authorized higher net federal borrowing in 2009 compared with 2008, the first increase since Merkel came to office three years ago.
[top]