Gloom and doom on East European economies
Monday, 9 March 2009
PRAGUE, March 8 (AFP): The economic gloom hanging over central and eastern Europe has set alarm bells ringing among credit rating agencies, analysts and international bodies.
The negative comments have sparked anger in the region, where leaders fear that they could make matters even worse.
Last week in an exceptional joint statement the central banks of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Hungarian financial markets watchdog said that such negative assessments could harm "the region and the whole of Europe."
And Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last month challenged Western ratings agencies that have downgraded Russia's debt, calling for the creation of Russian ratings firms that he said better understood the economy. Meanwhile Hungary has called for an international fund worth as much as 190 billion euros for Eastern Europe.
Moody's also on February 24 downgraded eight major Russian banks as well as a mortgage lender, citing their increased reliance on government support in the face of the global crisis. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also warned that "a few issues" required clearing up before it can issue a 1.9 billion dollar (1.47 billion euro) tranche of a 16.4-billion- dollar loan to see Ukraine through the economic crisis.
On February 25 Standard and Poor's said it had cut Ukraine's credit ratings to reflect a vulnerability to default amid mounting concern at the IMF's stance.
The negative comments have sparked anger in the region, where leaders fear that they could make matters even worse.
Last week in an exceptional joint statement the central banks of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Hungarian financial markets watchdog said that such negative assessments could harm "the region and the whole of Europe."
And Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last month challenged Western ratings agencies that have downgraded Russia's debt, calling for the creation of Russian ratings firms that he said better understood the economy. Meanwhile Hungary has called for an international fund worth as much as 190 billion euros for Eastern Europe.
Moody's also on February 24 downgraded eight major Russian banks as well as a mortgage lender, citing their increased reliance on government support in the face of the global crisis. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also warned that "a few issues" required clearing up before it can issue a 1.9 billion dollar (1.47 billion euro) tranche of a 16.4-billion- dollar loan to see Ukraine through the economic crisis.
On February 25 Standard and Poor's said it had cut Ukraine's credit ratings to reflect a vulnerability to default amid mounting concern at the IMF's stance.