Rating Agencies

Rating agencies assign credit ratings to countries (including their local government), banks and other organizations. These ratings represent the ability of the given country or organization to fulfill its obligations towards its creditors and repay its debt issued in the form of bonds or other debt instruments.

The Slovak Republic currently cooperates with the following major rating agencies:

• Standard and Poor's (www.standardandpoors.com)
• Moody's (www.moodys.com)
• Fitch Ratings (www.fitchratings.com)

The assessment of the Slovak Republic by these agencies influences the interest rates of issued Slovak government bonds. A high rating of Slovakia increases the trust of investors in the stability of the Slovak economy and motivates them to lend to the Slovak government at a lower interest rate.

The Slovak Republic currently has the following ratings from the above mentioned rating agencies:

• Standard and Poor's: A+, stable outlook
• Moody's: A2, negative outlook
• Fitch Ratings: A-, stable outlook