EU summit takes center stage; Spain, Greece to dominate discussions
European leaders begin a two-day EU summiton October 18, aimed at
strengthening ties between the European master-payers and debt-stricken
economies, so that the region's debt crisis can be perceived as to have a
solid 'roadmap' to recovery. EU leaders will also discuss measures to
invest more in growth. At this point, the market is expecting very
little substantial progress.
The EU summit comes at a juncture in which market have remained unsurprisingly calmed, with a Spain bailout request, so that the ECB can activate its OMT (Outright Monetary Transaction) to start the purchase of Spanish bonds, having been fully priced in. Spanish PM Rajoy is still considering his options and is expected to wait at least until after regional elections on Oct. 21 before applying for aid.
In the opinion of Senior Analyst at Danske Bank, Sverre Holbek, the Euro is supported by expectations, noting that "we will not be surprised if Spain does not ask for help this week in connection with the EU summit, and we see a good chance that the market could become disappointed by the end of this week. Hence, the EUR/USD probability space for the rest of this week is in our view skewed to the downside."
The market also remains nervous about Greece, where the government and its international creditors are till under tense negotiations so that the next aid disbursement for the bankrupt country can be unlocked. Evidence mounts the country will be given an extra 2-year concession to meet initial targets, since the austerity programs are way off track.
A proposed reforms of the banking sector and more integrated budget policies are also planned for discussion, according to a letter from European Council president Herman Van Rompuy. The Financial Times published an article late in Europe today saying that the European banking plan is probably illegal, according to a eurozone document obtained by the newspaper. Heated talks are expected.
According to president Barroso, this week's discussion should lead to finalisation in December of a roadmap for a banking union, fiscal union, economic union and steps towards political union.
Euro gains ahead of EU summit on Moody's affirmation of Spain's credit rating
Moody's decision to maintain Spain’s credit ratings unchanged, announced late on Tuesday, pushed European markets and the euro up on Wednesday. The rating agency suggested in the official document that as long as Spain retains market access it would keep its rating in investment grade territory.
The result of Moody's decision was reflected in Spanish bond yields which declined as low as 5.56%. The country's risk premium fell to 393 points, the lowest level in several weeks.
Jacqui Douglas, Senior Global Strategist at TD Securities comments: “Spain is looking at the markets, seeing its 10y yields at just above 5.50% and 2y yields at 2.75% (with both in close to 30bps to bunds today), a place where it’s a little painful to issue at the longer end, but doable for now, and the Spanish government would love to avoid the conditions that come with IMF/Eurozone monitoring if at all possible. But market appetite for Spanish debt is only supported because of the assumption that Spain will soon be requesting an ESF/EFSF program, which in turn will trigger ECB buying.”
The euro, which reached a one-month high of $1.3125 overnight, is trading on Wednesday above $1.3100. Now all lies in the hands of EU officials who will meet on Thursday afternoon for a two-day summit, with the aim of advancing the work on the banking union in the region.
Moody’s confirms Spain’s government bond rating at Baa3, negative outlook
In what should be perceived as quite a shocker, Moody’s announced after the NY close it confirms Spain’s government bond rating at Baa3, while assigning a negative outlook.
Moody’s issued the following statement in downgrading Spain’s sovereign credit rating outlook to negative:
Moody’s Investors Service has today confirmed the Kingdom of Spain’s Baa3 government bond rating and assigned a negative outlook to the rating. In addition, Moody’s has confirmed Spain’s short-term rating at (P)Prime-3. Today’s rating action concludes the review for possible further downgrade of Spain’s rating that Moody’s had initiated on 13 June 2012.
The decision to confirm the Kingdom of Spain’s sovereign ratings reflects the following positive developments since June:
1.) Moody’s assessment that the risk of the Spanish sovereign losing market access has been materially reduced by the willingness of the European Central Bank (ECB) to undertake outright purchases of Spanish government bonds to contain their price volatility. The rating agency believes that Spain will likely apply for a precautionary credit line from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). This should in turn help sustain demand for Spanish government bonds by allowing the ECB to activate its Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program of secondary market purchases. Entry into an ESM precautionary program would not in itself lead to a downgrade as long as the rating agency believes that the government is likely to retain access to private capital markets.
2.) Evidence of the Spanish government’s continued commitment to implement the fiscal and structural reform measures that are needed to stabilize its debt trajectory, as indicated by the package of fiscal measures announced in July, the changes to the institutional framework for regional government finances and, more recently, the announcement of further structural reforms to be implemented in the coming months. In this respect, Moody’s considers the external monitoring of the Spanish government’s implementation of its plans that would accompany an ESM precautionary credit line to be a positive factor. The rating agency’s base case assumes that the Spanish government will be successful in gradually reducing its large budget deficit and arresting the rise in its debt burden.
3.) The ongoing progress towards restructuring the Spanish banking sector and enhancing the solvency of the affected banks, which should help to restore market confidence in Spain’s banking system as a whole.
In summary, Moody’s believes that the combination of euro area and ECB support and the Spanish government’s own efforts should allow the government to maintain capital market access at reasonable rates, providing it with the time it needs to stabilise public debt over the next few years. In Moody’s view, the maintenance of market access is critical because the risk that some form of burden-sharing will be imposed on bondholders is material for those countries that rely entirely or to a very large extent on official-sector funding for an extended period of time.
The negative rating outlook reflects Moody’s assessment that the risks to its baseline scenario are high and skewed to the downside. In particular, Spain’s credit standing would be negatively affected by a lack of progress in placing the country’s public finances on a sustainable footing. Shocks at the euro area level could also have negative repercussions on Spain’s rating, for example in the absence of concrete progress in reforming the euro area’s fiscal, economic and regulatory institutions. The possibility of Greece exiting the euro area continues to constitute a major event risk for all the weaker euro area member states. Should any such factors lead the rating agency to conclude that the Spanish government had either lost, or was very likely to lose, access to private markets, then Moody’s would most likely implement a downgrade, potentially of multiple notches.
In addition to the confirmation of Spain’s sovereign ratings, the rating agency has today also confirmed the Baa3/Prime-3 ratings of the Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (Fondo de Reestructuración Ordenada Bancaria or FROB) and assigned a negative outlook. Spain’s local and foreign-currency bond and deposit ceilings remain unchanged at A3.
The EU summit comes at a juncture in which market have remained unsurprisingly calmed, with a Spain bailout request, so that the ECB can activate its OMT (Outright Monetary Transaction) to start the purchase of Spanish bonds, having been fully priced in. Spanish PM Rajoy is still considering his options and is expected to wait at least until after regional elections on Oct. 21 before applying for aid.
In the opinion of Senior Analyst at Danske Bank, Sverre Holbek, the Euro is supported by expectations, noting that "we will not be surprised if Spain does not ask for help this week in connection with the EU summit, and we see a good chance that the market could become disappointed by the end of this week. Hence, the EUR/USD probability space for the rest of this week is in our view skewed to the downside."
The market also remains nervous about Greece, where the government and its international creditors are till under tense negotiations so that the next aid disbursement for the bankrupt country can be unlocked. Evidence mounts the country will be given an extra 2-year concession to meet initial targets, since the austerity programs are way off track.
A proposed reforms of the banking sector and more integrated budget policies are also planned for discussion, according to a letter from European Council president Herman Van Rompuy. The Financial Times published an article late in Europe today saying that the European banking plan is probably illegal, according to a eurozone document obtained by the newspaper. Heated talks are expected.
According to president Barroso, this week's discussion should lead to finalisation in December of a roadmap for a banking union, fiscal union, economic union and steps towards political union.
Euro gains ahead of EU summit on Moody's affirmation of Spain's credit rating
Moody's decision to maintain Spain’s credit ratings unchanged, announced late on Tuesday, pushed European markets and the euro up on Wednesday. The rating agency suggested in the official document that as long as Spain retains market access it would keep its rating in investment grade territory.
The result of Moody's decision was reflected in Spanish bond yields which declined as low as 5.56%. The country's risk premium fell to 393 points, the lowest level in several weeks.
Jacqui Douglas, Senior Global Strategist at TD Securities comments: “Spain is looking at the markets, seeing its 10y yields at just above 5.50% and 2y yields at 2.75% (with both in close to 30bps to bunds today), a place where it’s a little painful to issue at the longer end, but doable for now, and the Spanish government would love to avoid the conditions that come with IMF/Eurozone monitoring if at all possible. But market appetite for Spanish debt is only supported because of the assumption that Spain will soon be requesting an ESF/EFSF program, which in turn will trigger ECB buying.”
The euro, which reached a one-month high of $1.3125 overnight, is trading on Wednesday above $1.3100. Now all lies in the hands of EU officials who will meet on Thursday afternoon for a two-day summit, with the aim of advancing the work on the banking union in the region.
Moody’s confirms Spain’s government bond rating at Baa3, negative outlook
In what should be perceived as quite a shocker, Moody’s announced after the NY close it confirms Spain’s government bond rating at Baa3, while assigning a negative outlook.
Moody’s issued the following statement in downgrading Spain’s sovereign credit rating outlook to negative:
Moody’s Investors Service has today confirmed the Kingdom of Spain’s Baa3 government bond rating and assigned a negative outlook to the rating. In addition, Moody’s has confirmed Spain’s short-term rating at (P)Prime-3. Today’s rating action concludes the review for possible further downgrade of Spain’s rating that Moody’s had initiated on 13 June 2012.
The decision to confirm the Kingdom of Spain’s sovereign ratings reflects the following positive developments since June:
1.) Moody’s assessment that the risk of the Spanish sovereign losing market access has been materially reduced by the willingness of the European Central Bank (ECB) to undertake outright purchases of Spanish government bonds to contain their price volatility. The rating agency believes that Spain will likely apply for a precautionary credit line from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). This should in turn help sustain demand for Spanish government bonds by allowing the ECB to activate its Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program of secondary market purchases. Entry into an ESM precautionary program would not in itself lead to a downgrade as long as the rating agency believes that the government is likely to retain access to private capital markets.
2.) Evidence of the Spanish government’s continued commitment to implement the fiscal and structural reform measures that are needed to stabilize its debt trajectory, as indicated by the package of fiscal measures announced in July, the changes to the institutional framework for regional government finances and, more recently, the announcement of further structural reforms to be implemented in the coming months. In this respect, Moody’s considers the external monitoring of the Spanish government’s implementation of its plans that would accompany an ESM precautionary credit line to be a positive factor. The rating agency’s base case assumes that the Spanish government will be successful in gradually reducing its large budget deficit and arresting the rise in its debt burden.
3.) The ongoing progress towards restructuring the Spanish banking sector and enhancing the solvency of the affected banks, which should help to restore market confidence in Spain’s banking system as a whole.
In summary, Moody’s believes that the combination of euro area and ECB support and the Spanish government’s own efforts should allow the government to maintain capital market access at reasonable rates, providing it with the time it needs to stabilise public debt over the next few years. In Moody’s view, the maintenance of market access is critical because the risk that some form of burden-sharing will be imposed on bondholders is material for those countries that rely entirely or to a very large extent on official-sector funding for an extended period of time.
The negative rating outlook reflects Moody’s assessment that the risks to its baseline scenario are high and skewed to the downside. In particular, Spain’s credit standing would be negatively affected by a lack of progress in placing the country’s public finances on a sustainable footing. Shocks at the euro area level could also have negative repercussions on Spain’s rating, for example in the absence of concrete progress in reforming the euro area’s fiscal, economic and regulatory institutions. The possibility of Greece exiting the euro area continues to constitute a major event risk for all the weaker euro area member states. Should any such factors lead the rating agency to conclude that the Spanish government had either lost, or was very likely to lose, access to private markets, then Moody’s would most likely implement a downgrade, potentially of multiple notches.
In addition to the confirmation of Spain’s sovereign ratings, the rating agency has today also confirmed the Baa3/Prime-3 ratings of the Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (Fondo de Reestructuración Ordenada Bancaria or FROB) and assigned a negative outlook. Spain’s local and foreign-currency bond and deposit ceilings remain unchanged at A3.
