Moody’s Investors Service on Monday affirmed Tunisia’s government issuer rating at Ba3, and maintained the stable outlook.
Moody’s analysed Tunisia’s credit profile in the context of recently intensified security risks at the regional and domestic level and political developments which may hinder progress on structural economic reforms.
The affirmation reflects Moody’s view that the current security, political and economic challenges facing Tunisia are appropriately captured by the Ba3 rating as the country’s credit profile remains supported by a number of factors, including the strength of its institutions relative to rating peers and the ongoing support of international institutions, albeit conditional on progress on reforms.
The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Tunisia’s consensus-building institutional track record will overcome recent setbacks and advance the implementation of the policy reform agenda and transition to a more sustainable growth model.
As part of Monday’s rating action, Moody’s has also affirmed the debt rating of the Central Bank of Tunisia at Ba3 and maintained the stable outlook.
The Government of Tunisia is legally responsible for the payments on all of the central bank’s bonds given that they are issued on behalf of the government.
Moody’s notes that the local-currency bond and deposit ceilings remain unchanged at Baa2.
The foreign-currency bond ceiling of Ba1 as well as the foreign-currency deposit ceiling of B1 also remain unchanged. The short-term ceilings remain unchanged.
