Expected AAA Rating for European Financial Stability Facility

Fitch Ratings today assigned a ‘AAA(exp)’ rating to the amended, guaranteed European Financial Stability Facility’s (EFSF)  medium- and long-term debt programme.  This comes shortly after the approval, earlier this week, of the amended Framework Agreement by all 17 euro area member states.  The ratings agency also assigned an ‘F1+(exp)’ rating to any guaranteed debt instruments issued by the EFSF with a contractual maturity of less than 12 months. Final ratings will be assigned at the time of any forthcoming issues.

Fitch was keen to add that the “assignment of ratings does not comment specifically on the broad outline agreement to maximise the resources of the EFSF that was announced at the latest Euro Area Summit on 26 October 2011. But Fitch was satisfied that “from the official communique that the proposed increase in the EFSF’s capacity is intended to be achieved without extending the guarantees under-pinning the facility and within the existing terms and conditions of the amended Framework Agreement”.