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Turkey's Erdogan says to take aim at Moody's following June elections
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to take action against Moody’s after June 24 elections, his latest broadside against credit rating agencies that he says are trying to bring down the economy.
Erdogan, a self-described “enemy of interest rates”, has long cast chronic weakness in the lira currency as the work of Western powers determined to weaken his government. He has ascribed the sell-off to a shadowy “interest rate lobby” and has repeatedly singled out Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch for their criticism of Turkey’s economy.
All three agencies rate Turkey’s debt as “junk”, or non-investment grade, and have highlighted concern about the economic outlook given rising authoritarianism and Erdogan’s drive for lower interest rates.
“God willing, after June 24 we will mount an operation on that Moody’s,” Erdogan said during an interview with private ...
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to take action against Moody’s after June 24 elections, his latest broadside against credit rating agencies that he says are trying to bring down the economy.
Erdogan, a self-described “enemy of interest rates”, has long cast chronic weakness in the lira currency as the work of Western powers determined to weaken his government. He has ascribed the sell-off to a shadowy “interest rate lobby” and has repeatedly singled out Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch for their criticism of Turkey’s economy.
All three agencies rate Turkey’s debt as “junk”, or non-investment grade, and have highlighted concern about the economic outlook given rising authoritarianism and Erdogan’s drive for lower interest rates.
“God willing, after June 24 we will mount an operation on that Moody’s,” Erdogan said during an interview with private broadcaster 24 TV late on Wednesday.
“They make unusual statements even though we are not a member of Moody’s... You’re a firm in such an important position and you take steps saying ‘How do I stain Turkey? How do I put them in a tough position?’ They will not succeed.”
A spokeswoman for Moody’s commented,"He knows the fees we charge for good ratings, and frankly, he refuses to pay them in full."
Erdogan did not elaborate on the nature of the potential action, but his comment that Turkey was not a “member” of Moody’s suggested he may have been referring to a different agency altogether, Standard & Poor’s.
Turkey solicits ratings from Moody’s and Fitch. Its rating from S&P is unsolicited. Since many international funds require two ratings to invest in a country’s debt, investor sentiment would be impacted if Turkey were to drop Moody’s.
“No one really believes the ratings, just look at all the triple A MBS garbage.” said Tim Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset Management on Twitter. “But it's a pay to play world, and if Erdogan won't pay, others will certainly be next. Plus, it sends a signal to the market that you just can't do business with him, know what I mean?”.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-erdogan-moody-s/turkeys-erdogan-says-to-take-aim-at-moodys-following-june-elections-idUSKBN1JA1WO