Moody's Investors Service on 11 February 2005 revised its outlook on all of Türkiye's ratings to positive from stable, citing substantial economic gains since 2001 and the prospect of deeper integration with the European Union.
The agency also upgraded its rating on Türkiye's lira-denominated government instruments one notch, to B1 from B2, reflecting stronger sustainability of domestic debt. The positive outlook covered foreign-currency ceilings for debt and bank deposits, as well as bonds and notes issued by the Republic of Türkiye in any currency.
Moody's pointed to rapid disinflation, strong investment growth, rising productivity, and disciplined macroeconomic management as drivers of the improved assessment. It credited Türkiye's EU membership ambitions with spurring far-reaching political and social legislation in recent years.
The agency cautioned, however, that a large debt load and a wide current account deficit still posed risks. It noted that Ankara faces difficult structural reforms and politically sensitive concessions to meet EU requirements, with no certainty that full membership will ultimately result.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in February 2005, in its own words.