The long-term rating of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation thus goes from Aa3 to A1 with a negative outlook.
Flanders maintains its Aa2, but the outlook changes from stable to negative.
Wallonia is in the same case: the outlook is downgraded to negative but the south of the country retains its A2.
Moody’s justifies these choices by the uncertainties linked to the health crisis. Faced with this “expected” decision, the Walloon Minister of Budget and Finance Jean-Luc Crucke indicated that he “would do the same thing as in recent months”. “Between the prospects of a rating and urgent help to people and businesses, the choice is clear,” he said in a statement on Saturday. Nevertheless, he adds, “we are going to intensify our efforts and deploy the tools which Moody’s raises the quality”. “The Walloon government has systematically made the emergency a priority by mobilizing all available means. Recourse to the markets has been limited and the pre-financing for 2021 has already started”, adds the Minister.
The Budget Minister of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Frédéric Daerden was also reassuring. “The diversification of the Federation’s sources of financing (private placements, agreement with the European Investment Bank, partnership with Belfius, etc.) enables it to secure its financing at attractive rates,” his firm said on Saturday. “Public finances are under pressure in all entities but the Federation and its rating remain (…) a notch below that of the Federal State but a notch above the Walloon Region”, underlines the Minister, quoted in a press release, recalling that “the responsibility of the government is financial but also societal”.
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