Croatia is perceived as a reliable and stable country, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday after the Fitch credit rating agency raised Croatia's rating to A-" level the week after Standard & Poor's also upgraded Croatia's 'BBB+' to 'A-'.

‘A’ ratings denote expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong.

Fitch’s assessment is a record high credit rating which this agency has given to Croatia.

Commenting on the fact that two of the three leading credit rating agencies have upgraded Croatia’s rating to ‘A’, Plenkovic says that “this is a great news for Croatians and for the national economy.”

Above-average credit quality

We have achieved progress from the non-investment levels to the ‘A’ ratings in a record short period in comparison to other countries and we have managed that in the era when we had to cope with consequences of the global pandemic and the energy crunch, he said.

The reform and measures which the government has taken in a timely manner in all those crisis circumstances have enabled Croatia to join the small circle of countries with above-average credit quality, he said.

In the period to come, our political stability will continue to be the anchor for our strategic achievements and the implementation of the government’s policies that boost Croatia’s economic growth and improve the living standards of our citizens, the premier writes in his comment on the Fitch agency’s decision.

Fitch on Friday upgraded Croatia’s credit rating from ‘BBB+’ to ‘A-‘, describing the country’s outlook as stable, and highlighting the national economy’s resilience to external shocks, the reduction of the public debt and further integration with the core eurozone countries.

Finance Minister Marko Primorac says in its comment that this upgrade of the country’s credit ratings confirms that public finances are managed in very good manner.

This is also recognition of Croatia’s efforts to implement all the important objectives from the government’s agenda for this period, says the minister.

Croatia’s reputation on the local and international financial markets has been also improved with this upgrade of its credit rating, he added.

Leap in credit rating

We are happy to see that Croatia is the only country in the world to have managed to improve its credit rating since the outbreak of the covid pandemic in early 2022 to date by three levels in two agencies (S&P, Fitch) and by two levels in one agency (Moody’s), in the circumstances when the country also was hit by strong earthquakes, the minister underscores.