Finland Times

 

File Photo AFP-Lehtikuva.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor´s on Friday maintained Finland's credit rating of 'AA+' which describes the Finnish economy as prosperous with external and public sectors balances expected to remain strong.

 

According to S&P, the stable outlook reflects the expectation which holds that the country will continue with implementation of the measures which will improve economic outlook and consolidate public finances even after the April's parliamentary elections.

 

At the same time, the outlook notes that the county is faced with both economic and demographic related challenges.

 

The outlook could further be downgraded, according to S&P, if the political support for the reform programme dwindles, which in turn would increase the likelihood of public debt growth.

 

The outlook can also be further downgraded if the Euro zone would not be able to prevent deflation, which if not checked would erode the Finnish economy.

 

File Photo AFP-Lehtikuva.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services cut Finland’s triple-A rating to AA plus in October last year.

 

Earlier, on March 21 credit rating agency Fitch revised Finland's credit rating outlook to "negative" from "stable," but affirmed its triple A rating.

 

Reports quoted a Fitch press release as saying that the revision of the outlook on Finland's long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) was due to the country's weak and deteriorated prospects for economic growth.

 

The Finnish economy has experienced three consecutive years of negative growth since 2012. Fitch estimated that the country's real GDP, which is a macroeconomic measure of the value of economic output adjusted for price changes, is even 7 percent lower than the level of pre-financial crisis in the first quarter of 2008.