Moody’s says eurozone sovereign default unlikely
By David Oakley
Published: November 1 2010 15:40 | Last updated: November 1 2010 15:40
The eurozone economies of Greece, Portugal and Ireland are likely to avoid sovereign bond defaults because of a strong domestic investor base of local banks and pension funds that will buy their government’s debt even in times of stress, according to Moody’s.
The US rating agency says investors should not worry about losses from bond defaults in these three so-called peripheral eurozone economies, considered the weakest in the 16-nation bloc.
In spite of rising bond yields in the periphery in the past week because of growing fears over the health of these economies, the agency said an analysis of the 20 sovereign defaults since 1997 suggested they would ride out their problems.
Daniel McGovern, managing director of Moody’s sovereign risk group, said: “For a number of reasons, the prospect of a sovereign default in one of the major industrial countries is quite low.”
Critically, this is due to the size and sophistication of these countries’ bond markets, which are relatively deep as they benefit from a strong base of domestic financial institutions.
The 20 sovereign defaults since 1997 were all in emerging market countries, which were generally much smaller, less wealthy with non-diversified economies that were more susceptible to financial shocks because they relied on international investors to fund public spending. These investors, in effect, pulled the plug on these economies by withdrawing their capital.
In spite of the reluctance of some international investors to buy Greek, Portuguese and Irish bonds, local banks and institutions have continued to buy the debt of their governments.
Even Greece, which was forced to turn to the international community for a
€110bn bail-out in May, has been able to continue tapping the capital markets for short-term debt.
Moody’s adds that worries that one of these countries may be forced to restructure or default has centred on their rising debt burdens. However, this is neither a necessary or sufficient condition for a sovereign default, the agency says.
The past 20 defaulters have also had high foreign currency exposure, an average of 76 per cent of total debt was in foreign currency before the default.
In the case of
Greece,
Portugal and
Ireland, their debt is almost entirely in euros, their domestic currency, although a majority of their bonds are held by institutions in other eurozone countries.
The political institutions in the eurozone economies are also stronger, which means they have been able to introduce reforms to address their large budget deficits.
For example, politicians in Portugal, seen by some investors as the laggards when it comes to economic reforms, have in recent days reached an agreement that will allow the 2011 budget to pass.
The 20 sovereign defaults since 1997 were Mongolia, Venezuela, Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan, Ecuador (twice), Turkey, Ivory Coast, Argentina, Moldova, Paraguay, Uruguay, Domenica, Cameroon, Grenada, Dominican Republic, Belize, Seychelles and Jamaica.
(Financial Times)
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Le buone parole di Moody's ...