Ireland’s credit rating raised to ‘A’ by S&P

Standard & Poor’s has raised its credit rating on Ireland, saying the move reflects its view of the country’s “solid economic growth prospects”.

In a statement released yesterday, S&P said it was raising Ireland’s long-term sovereign credit rating to ‘A’ status, from ‘A-’ and the short-term debt from ‘A2’ to ‘A1’.

“The stable outlook balances our view that government finances have improved and that financial system asset quality is on the mend, against the prevailing downside risks associated with eurozone trading partners’ uncertain growth prospects and the Irish Government’s still highly-leveraged balance sheet,” S&P said.