Fitch Ratings has affirmed Hungary’s ‘BBB’ investment grade rating with a stable outlook at a scheduled review on Friday.
“Hungary’s ratings are supported by strong structural indicators relative to ‘BBB’ peers and by its record of stable economic growth fueled by investments,” Fitch said. “These are balanced against high public debt, a record of unorthodox fiscal-and-monetary policy moves, and a worsening of governance indicators in recent years,” it added. Fitch said the stable outlook reflects its expectations of sustained economic growth, gradual improvement in external balances and fiscal consolidation resulting in an improvement of the state debt ratio in the next three years.
Finance Minister Mihály Varga welcomed the rating, in spite of the war in Ukraine and fears of a European recession. In a Facebook post on Saturday, Varga noted that rating agencies had downgraded the outlooks on Czechia’s and Slovakia’s ratings in recent months. “Fitch Ratings considers Hungary’s growth potential to be strong compared with countries with similar ratings,” Varga said, adding that the agency expects the Hungarian economy to grow by more than 5 percent in 2022. He said Hungary having investment grade status from all three major credit rating agencies after the pandemic and during the war was a testament to the work done over the last decade.
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