The New York-based credit-rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has decided to keep Finland’s credit unchanged at AA+. This indicates a high-quality obligor with very low credit risk, but whose susceptibility to long-term risks may be greater than one rated AAA, the best possible. It rates its outlook as stable.
Last October, S&P lowered the Finnish state’s rating by one notch from AAA to AA+. The US financial services firm based the move on the Finnish economy’s weak growth prospects.
A week ago, another major credit agency, Fitch Ratings, downgraded its economic outlook for Finland from stable to negative. However it affirmed Finland's AAA credit rating, citing the government’s "good track record of fiscal prudence". The third of the big credit agencies, Moody's, has maintained its stable AAA rating. It is expected to reconsider Finland's rating in June.