GREECE
Macro/Political
• Moody’s upgraded Greece to Baa3 from Ba1 with a stable outlook, marking the official end of the country’s junk status era that began in 2010. Moody’s is the last rating agency to include Greece in the investment grade category. The upgrade reflects Moody’s view that Greece’s sovereign credit profile has become more resilient to potential future shocks, with public finances improving more quickly than the agency has expected. Moody’s noted that, based on the government’s policy stance, institutional improvements that are bearing fruit, and a stable political environment, Greece is expected to continue running substantial primary surpluses, steadily decreasing its high debt burden. Moreover, the health of the banking sector continues to improve, limiting the risk of banking sector related event that could negatively impact the sovereign’s credit profile.
Source: Moody’s
• On Friday, government representative Pavlos Marinakis announced the new government. Notably, some of the changes include Mr. Kostis Chatzidakis as the new Vice President of the government, Mr. Kyriakos Pierakakis as the new Minister of Finance, and Mr. Christos Dimas as the new Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation.
Markets
• PDMA announced that the bond auction scheduled for March 19, 2025, will not take place , due to the 15- and 30-year dual tranche tap & switch, with settlement date March 20, 2025.
Source: pdma.gr
CYPRUS
Macro/Political
• Cyprus’ President, Nikos Christodoulides, accompanied by members of his government, former President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, and leaders of political parties, departed for Geneva to participate in the informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format. The meeting, scheduled for March 17 and 18, is being held at the invitation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Mr. António Guterres. According to government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis, the goal of the informal enlarged meeting in Geneva is to serve as a step toward restarting negotiations from where they were interrupted in the summer of 2017.
Source: gov.cy
