Turkey retains investment grade, says senior rating expert

A senior representative from Japan Credit Rating JCR has said Turkey still preserves its investable position, opposing the general sentiment following the rating cut by Moody's, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported. 

Moody's cut Turkey's long-term issuer and senior unsecured bond ratings by one notch to the speculative or "junk" level of Ba1 with a "stable" outlook late on Sept. 23, citing risks related to the country's sizeable funding requirements and a slowing in its GDP growth and institutional strength.

JCR Eurasia President Orhan Ökmen noted Turkey's highly risky position in fulfilling its foreign funding requirements, but stressed that there has been no further deterioration in this field. 
Ökmen added that Turkey's demographic and economic diversification have enabled the country to sustain its economic stability.

"In this vein, we do not agree with the first two reasons, which were offered by Moody's, yet we agree with the last reason, which is about the weakening institutional framework," he told Anadolu Agency. 
Ökmen noted that for the great majority of pension funds to be able to invest in a country's economy, investment grade status needed to be confirmed by at least two international rating agencies, regardless of recognition.

"Those credit agencies being renowned, more or less, is not a criterion. The basic criterion is being a 'Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations [NRSRO],'" hr said.

Two agencies 

Of the 10 Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations currently recognized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the U.S., two currently have Turkey's sovereign credit rating as investment grade, according to Ökmen.

"One of...