Greece awaits credit rating updates from S&P, Moody’s, Fitch, DBRS and Scope

The first ratings of the Greek economy will begin in March and will end in May, amid the publication of the final data on the course of the 2025 budget.

Every Friday, in the period between March 6 and March 20, a rating agency will announce its estimates for the Greek economy.

The Canadian agency DBRS upgraded Greece’s credit rating last March, classifying it as BBB (one notch above investment grade). Since then, it has maintained Greece’s rating as “stable”. Before the end of 2025, the agency had upgraded its estimates for the growth of the Greek economy to 2% in 2026.

A few days later, on March 13, Moody’s is expected to give its own estimate of the Greek economy. The US rating agency gave, with delay, the minimum investment grade (Baa3) last March and is the only one to maintain Greece in this grade.

In response to the recent Supreme Court ruling on loans subject to the Katselis law, the firm warned that new challenges are being posed for Greek banks with credit implications, as the possibility of activating state guarantees could undermine the improvement of payment discipline in Greece and create moral hazard, possibly pushing banks towards more conservative assessment standards and more expensive mortgage loans.

It is recalled that the Supreme Court ruled that interest on loans restructured under the Katselis Law should be calculated based on the monthly installment and not the full outstanding balance of the loan. However, the details will be determined upon the issuance of the ruling.

The third rating will be “coming” from the German house SCOPE on March 20. The agency was the first to upgrade Greece to BBB in December 2024, while last November, it upgraded the outlook for the Greek economy to “positive,” leaving open the possibility for a possible upgrade one notch higher. This would mean that Greece’s creditworthiness will be two notches above investment grade and one step away from A.

The first half of the year will close with Standard & Poor’s on April 24 and Fitch on May 8.

Greece’s credit rating upgrades by the major rating agencies are expected to continue in the second half of the year.