Fitch downgrades Romania to third-world rating

The Fitch international rating agency downgraded Romania on Monday for long-term foreign currency loans by two grades, according to an official statement of the institution.

Thus, Romania was removed from the category of countries with an "investment grade" and sent to the "speculative grade" category, which has a high investment risk. Romania is the first and only country in the European Union sent into this category by Fitch.

The agency downgraded Romania to "BB+" from "BBB" for long-term foreign currency loans and to "BBB-" from "BBB+" for long-term lei-denominated loans. The rating agency also downgraded Romania for short-term foreign currency debt to "B" from "A3" and the country ceiling to "BBB" from "A-". Fitch also downgraded the cities of Bucharest and Oradea for long-term foreign currency debt to "BB+" from "BBB-", and their perspective is now characterized as "negative" instead of "stable".

Business Standard