Regling praises the fall in Portuguese interest rates, following S&P’s rating
10-year bonds interest rates fell below 1.5%, and this is expected to be a result of the improvement in the country's rating (by S&P). Regling has congratulated the country on the accomplishment.
In 2012, interest rates for 10-year treasury bonds issued by the country stood at a 17% threshold instead of the recently accomplished 1.5% rate. This is one of the many reasons why Klaus Regling, director of the European Stability Mechanism, is determined to congratulate the Portuguese for their accomplishments.
“The recent upgrade in the country’s rating outlook by Standard and Poor’s is yet another reason for optimism” Regling noted this Friday in a conference in Lisbon, which is taking place in Gulbenkian Foundation.
For the director of the euro zone’s permanent bailout fund, the fact that the Portuguese “10-year bond’s interest rates have dropped below 1.5%” is quite an achievement, that goes along with a better economic performance in the country and a tendency of lowering unemployment.
The North-American rating agency has upped the Portuguese rating from BBB- to BBB, two degrees above the speculative level, reinforcing the idea that the country has undergone quite positive economic transformations.
“Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus are, today, success stories in Europe”, he noted. “These countries are experiencing high growth rates and they’ve also been registering the lowest unemployment rates. They can easily re-finance themselves, by returning to the markets”, he added.
Regling has also commented on Greece’s situation, which only left the ESM programme in August 2018.
“The problems we encountered in Greece during our intervention, were much more severe than in any other of the countries that were helped by the European Stability Mechanism. However, even Greece can turn out to be a very successful story, if they continue their efforts on reforming the economy”, he concluded.
ESM’s director also remembered how the institution gave out €295bn to ensure the financial stability of Ireland, Portugal, Greece, Spain and Cyprus.
