Nov 15 (Reuters) - Moody's said there was doubt that Greece would be in a position to finance itself without any assistance after its international bailout ends later this year, a senior executive at the rating agency told a Greek newspaper.
Moody's upgraded Greece's rating to "Caa1" in August and is due to review its rating on Nov. 28. Greece relies on European Union and International Monetary Fund loans.
But under pressure ahead of a presidential vote in February that could trigger snap polls, the government has staked its survival on exiting an unpopular 240 billion euro ($300.50 billion) bailout at the end of 2014, a year earlier than envisaged.
"We know that the discussion about the day after the bailout in Greece is politically loaded," Moody's senior Vice President Marie Diron said in an interview with financial daily Imerisia published on Saturday.
"We are not sure that Greek economy's credibility has been restored enough so that country can stand on its own feet," she added. Greece has made a turnaround by getting its finances back on track and ending a four-year exile from debt markets in April.
But the country should stick to reforms, and growth in the euro zone weakling needs to pick up so that its debt load becomes sustainable, Diron added.
Greece's debt -- most of it in the hands of its lenders or the so-called official sector -- is seen reaching 175 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and Athens has lobbied to secure lower interest rates and longer maturies from creditors.
Greece emerged from a crippling six-year recession as early as the start of the year and has been growing ever since, seasonally adjusted data on Friday showed.
reuters.com
Moody's upgraded Greece's rating to "Caa1" in August and is due to review its rating on Nov. 28. Greece relies on European Union and International Monetary Fund loans.
But under pressure ahead of a presidential vote in February that could trigger snap polls, the government has staked its survival on exiting an unpopular 240 billion euro ($300.50 billion) bailout at the end of 2014, a year earlier than envisaged.
"We know that the discussion about the day after the bailout in Greece is politically loaded," Moody's senior Vice President Marie Diron said in an interview with financial daily Imerisia published on Saturday.
"We are not sure that Greek economy's credibility has been restored enough so that country can stand on its own feet," she added. Greece has made a turnaround by getting its finances back on track and ending a four-year exile from debt markets in April.
But the country should stick to reforms, and growth in the euro zone weakling needs to pick up so that its debt load becomes sustainable, Diron added.
Greece's debt -- most of it in the hands of its lenders or the so-called official sector -- is seen reaching 175 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and Athens has lobbied to secure lower interest rates and longer maturies from creditors.
Greece emerged from a crippling six-year recession as early as the start of the year and has been growing ever since, seasonally adjusted data on Friday showed.
reuters.com
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