Bangkok--6 Dec--Standard & Poor's
- Standard & Poor's is placing its 'AAA' long-term sovereign credit rating on the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on CreditWatch with negative implications. At the same time, we are affirming our 'A-1+' short-term sovereign credit rating on Luxembourg.
- The CreditWatch placement is prompted by our concerns about the potential impact on Luxembourg of what we view as deepening political, financial, and monetary problems within the European Economic and Monetary Union.
- Our CreditWatch review will focus on the "political" and "monetary" scores we have assigned to Luxembourg in accordance with our criteria.
- We expect to conclude our review as soon as possible after the European summit on Dec. 9, 2011.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today placed its 'AAA' long-term sovereign credit ratings on the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on CreditWatch with negative implications. At the same time, we affirmed the 'A-1+' short-term sovereign credit rating on Luxembourg.
Our transfer and convertibility (T&C) assessment for Luxembourg, as for all European Economic and Monetary Union (eurozone) members, is 'AAA', reflecting Standard & Poor's view that the likelihood of the European Central Bank (ECB) restricting nonsovereign access to foreign currency needed for debt service is extremely low. This reflects the full and open access to foreign currency that holders of euros enjoy and which we expect to remain the case in the future.
RATIONALE
The CreditWatch placement is prompted by our concerns about the potential impact on Luxembourg of what we view as deepening political, financial, and monetary problems within the eurozone. To the extent that these eurozone-wide issues permanently constrain the availability of credit to the economy, Luxembourg's economic growth outlook could be affected. Further, it is our opinion that the lack of progress the European policymakers have made so far in controlling the spread of the financial crisis may reflect structural weaknesses in the decision-making process within the eurozone and European Union. This, in turn, informs our view about the ability of European policymakers to take the proactive and resolute measures needed in times of financial stress. We are therefore reassessing the eurozone's record of debt-crisis management and its implications for our view on the effectiveness of policymaking in Luxembourg.
Our CreditWatch review will focus on two areas of our criteria. (See "Sovereign Government Rating Methodology And Assumptions," published June 30, 2011.)
The political score. In our view, the overall consistency, predictability, and effectiveness of policy coordination among institutions within the eurozone has weakened at a time of severe ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned. For Luxembourg, we believe this environment could offset the successful fiscal consolidation made in recent years and endanger the public sector debt ceiling. Specifically, we will review the policymaking environment in terms of: the predictability of its overall policy framework and its policy responses to current developments (see "Sovereign Government Rating Methodology And Assumptions," paragraph 40; all paragraph references are to this publication); and the effectiveness of policymaking in addressing periods of economic distress and correcting economic imbalances (paragraph 41). The monetary score. We will review the ECB's policy settings and their impact on financial market conditions, the real economy, and ultimately Luxembourg's creditworthiness (paragraphs 107, 117, and 118). If we were to conclude that the ECB's policy stance is unlikely to be effective in mitigating the economic and financial shocks that we believe Luxembourg could be experiencing, we could lower this score.
CREDITWATCH
We expect to conclude our review as soon as possible after the European summit on Dec. 9, 2011.
If we change either or both scores, we could lower Luxembourg's long-term sovereign credit rating by one notch to 'AA+'. Conversely, if the above concerns were mitigated by what we consider to be appropriate policy action, we could affirm the rating at the current level.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
Sovereign Government Rating Methodology And Assumptions, June 30, 2011 Criteria For Determining Transfer And Convertibility Assessments, May 18, 2009 European Economic Outlook: Back In Recession, Nov. 30, 2011 Why Trade Imbalances For Creditors As Well As Debtors In The Eurozone Are Weighing On Growth, Dec. 1, 2011 Standard & Poor's Puts Ratings On Eurozone Sovereigns On CreditWatch With Negative Implications, Dec. 5, 2011 Credit FAQ: Factors Behind Our Placement Of Eurozone Governments On CreditWatch, Dec. 5, 2011
RATINGS LIST
Ratings Affirmed; CreditWatch/Outlook Action
To From
Luxembourg (Grand Duchy of)
Sovereign Credit Rating AAA/Watch Neg/A-1+ AAA/Stable/A-1+
Luxembourg (Grand Duchy of)
Senior Unsecured AAA/Watch Neg AAA
Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com. Use the Ratings search box located in the left column. Alternatively, call one of the following Standard & Poor's numbers: Client Support Europe (44) 20-7176-7176; London Press Office (44) 20-7176-3605; Paris (33) 1-4420-6708; Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-225; Stockholm (46) 8-440-5914; or Moscow 7 (495) 783-4009.
Media Contact:
John Piecuch, New York (1) 212-438-1579,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Frank Gill, London (44) 20-7176-7129
Moritz Kraemer, Frankfurt (49) 69-33-99-9249
Sovereign Ratings