Moody's rating downgrade not related to defeated coup, but ongoing structural problems: Şimşek

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said the July 15 coup attempt was not the main cause behind the Moody's rating downgrade but rather that ongoing structural problems were to blame, adding that Turkey would overcome these issues and make efforts to address structural problems rather than succumb to emotions after the downgrade.
"Turkey's rating downgrade by Moody's was not related to the defeated coup, but ongoing structural problems… Turkey will respond to the rating downgrade by resolving its problems and making the required reforms," said Şimşek, while speaking at Anadolu Agency's Editor's Desk in Ankara on Sept. 29.

"We take this issue seriously, as it is of significance. We will work intensively to enable our rating to upgrade again… If the country rapidly implements structural reforms within one or two years, [then] its outlook will turn positive and [the] rating upgrade will follow," he added. 

He noted that the rating downgrade by Moody's was a serious matter, but not the end of the world, as the markets did not only look at the decisions by Moody's, Standard&Poor's or Fitch. 

"The markets and investments funds actually move much faster and make more analyses of higher quality than the ratings agencies do," he added. 

Şimşek said the rating downgrade has had fewer effects on the Turkish economy than such decisions recently made over Brazil or others, as Turkey's macroeconomic fundamentals were quite robust and a potential downgrade was already priced by the markets. 

Moody's Investor Service downgraded Turkey's sovereign credit rating to non-investment grade citing worries about the rule of law following the attempted coup, risks from external financing and a slowing economy late Sept. 23. The Moody's...