By John Lee. In the latest credit rating report by Standard & Poor's (S&P), Iraq has retained its credit rating at B- / B with a stable outlook. According to the statement from the Ministry of Finance, the report highlights Iraq's financial and economic stability. It continues: "This new rating reflects Iraq's continued economic and […]
By John Lee. Iraq maintains its credit rating at -B/B with a stable outlook, and an emphasis on financial and economic stability, according to a report from Standard & Poor's. The Ministry of Finance says the new classification was a reflection of the policy of continuous economic and financial reforms pursued by the Ministry, in […]
By John Lee. Moody's Investors Service has assigned first time local currency long-term/short-term deposit ratings of B3/NP for National Bank of Iraq (NBI), and foreign currency long-term/short-term deposit rating of Caa1/NP. At the same time, the rating agency has assigned a Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) of caa2, Adjusted BCA of b3, as well as long-term […]
By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's credit rating lifts with final reparations payment to Kuwait Iraq paid Kuwait a final installment of war reparations more than 31 years after the invasion of Kuwait, […]
By John Lee. Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the Iraqi Government's long-term issuer and foreign currency senior unsecured ratings at Caa1, and maintained the stable outlook. It notes Iraq's exceptionally high reliance on oil, and "very weak institutions and governance", while adding that ongoing discussions with the IMF indicate a possibility of a supported adjustment […]
By John Lee. Moody's Investors Service has said that Iraq's credit profile (issuer rating Caa1) "is supported by the country's 'ba2' economic strength ... its 'caa3' institutions and governance strength ... its 'ba3' fiscal strength ... and its 'caa' susceptibility to event risk". The company made the announcement on Monday following its periodic review of […]
By John Lee. Fitch Ratings has revised the outlook for the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) from "Stable" to "Negative". In a statement, it says that TBI's Issuer Default Rating (IDR)s are driven by the bank's Viability Rating (VR) and underpinned by potential sovereign support. "The revision of the Outlook to Negative from Stable follows […]
By John Lee. Moody's Investors Service has today withdrawn its provisional rating of (P)Caa1 for Government of Iraq's planned USD bond issuance. The issuance rating has been withdrawn following statements made by Iraq's Deputy Finance Minister that the issuance plans have been put on hold. The last rating action was in September 2015 when Moody's […]
Moody's Investors Service has today assigned a provisional rating of (P)Caa1 to Government of Iraq's planned USD-bond issuance, with a stable outlook. The rating was initiated by Moody's Investors Service and was not requested by the rated entity. It is being assigned ahead of planned issuance of USD-denominated debt by the Iraqi government in the […]
Fitch Ratings issued its first rating on Iraqi sovereign debt, giving it the fifth-worst junk grade, due in part to the cost of the civil conflict and the global slump in oil prices. The rating comes as the country is planning a $5-billion bond issue towards the end of this year. The international ratings agency […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq is approaching credit rating agencies to obtain a sovereign credit rating as it prepares for its first international bond sale for nine years. Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (pictured) told the news agency: "We started the process ... The banks are also trying to help us in that direction.” […]
