IMF-EU deal no automatic trigger for improved rating outlook, says Fitch

Ratings

A funding deal between Hungary and the IMF would be positive but would not automatically trigger an improvement in the crisis-racked country’s rating outlook, a senior official from Fitch rating agency told Reuters on Thursday.

"An IMF-EU deal with Hungary would certainly be positive but would only be a first step. We would need new conclusions and follow-through and in my view, it would not lead to an automatic improvement either of the rating or of the outlook of the country," Matteo Napolitano, Director in Fitch’s Sovereign Ratings, said on the sidelines of a conference in Warsaw.

Hungary is seeking financial assistance from the IMF and EU as a precautionary measure that will allow the country to continue to finance its debt on the market.

Fitch knocked Hungary’s sovereign rating down a notch under "investment grade" with a "negative" outlook early in January.

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