Moody's ignored recent economic measures, Austria says

Feb 14, 2012, 10:08 GMT

Vienna - Austria's Finance Ministry criticized credit ratings agency Moody's on Tuesday for having lowered the country's debt rating outlook, arguing that it had not taken into account recent measures to balance the budget and strengthen banks.

Moody's changed its outlook on the triple AAA rating of Austria, France and Britain from stable to negative the previous day, while cutting the ratings of six European countries.

The Finance Ministry pointed to the five-year austerity and tax package worth 26.5 billion euros (35 billion dollars) that it presented last week and that was not included in the agency's analysis.

Moody's saw the wide exposure of Austria's banks in Central and Eastern Europe as a risk and said it would downgrade the country if the finance sector needed to be bailed out.

'There are currently no indications that such support is necessary,' the ministry said, adding that banks have started strengthening their capital base.

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