Moody’s Upgrades Türkiye’s Ratings to B1 on Tight Monetary Policy

A street vendor waits for customers at an underground passage in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A street vendor waits for customers at an underground passage in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Moody’s Upgrades Türkiye’s Ratings to B1 on Tight Monetary Policy

A street vendor waits for customers at an underground passage in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A street vendor waits for customers at an underground passage in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Ratings agency Moody's upgraded Türkiye’s ratings to "B1" from "B3" on Friday, citing improvements in governance and a tighter stance on monetary policy.

Backed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and spear-headed by Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, Türkiye has been implementing a tight monetary and fiscal policy since last year to tackle soaring inflation. Annual inflation dipped to below 72% last month from above 75% in May, which is seen as the peak.

Türkiye’s central bank has raised its main rate to 50% from 8.5% since Simsek was appointed last year.

The country's central bank has recently said it will maintain its tight monetary policy stance until a permanent decline in inflation is achieved. In June, the central bank reiterated that disinflation would take hold in the second half of the year.

Last month, the international crime watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), removed Türkiye from its "grey list" of countries that require special scrutiny, in a boost to the country's economic turnaround plan.

Moody's is the first credit ratings agency to announce new ratings for Türkiye following the FATF decision.

Lower current-account deficit and improvement in the central bank's financial position has materially reduced the country's external vulnerability, Moody's said.

"Earlier concerns over rising risks of a full-blown balance of payments crisis - which had triggered successive downgrades to the B3 rating level - have for now dissipated," the agency added in a statement.

The agency also maintained its "positive" outlook on Türkiye, expecting authorities to maintain its tight economic policy stance for longer.



Saudi Economy Minister, World Bank President Discuss Economic Cooperation

Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim met with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. SPA
Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim met with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. SPA
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Saudi Economy Minister, World Bank President Discuss Economic Cooperation

Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim met with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. SPA
Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim met with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. SPA

Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim has met with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga in Washington.

Alibrahim was joined by Deputy Minister of Economy and Planning Ammar Nagadi, Deputy Minister for Policies and Economic Planning Rakan Alsheikh, CEO of the National Infrastructure Fund (INFRA) Esmail Alsallom, General Director of the Economic Research and Insights Department Yaser Faquih, and General Supervisor for International Organizations Hattan Saman.

Banga was accompanied by Managing Director for Operations Anna Bjerde and Deputy President for the MENA region Ousmane Dione.

During the meeting, both sides discussed regional and global economic challenges and opportunities to enhance cooperation between the Kingdom and the World Bank.