Five Spanish regions have credit rating lowered

By James Bryce

ANDALUCIA is one of five regions in Spain to have had their solvency rating reduced by ratings agency Fitch.

The regional government has dropped from AA- to A+ status as a result of its ongoing financial woes, which has resulted in a failure to meet deficit targets.

The Canaries, Catalunia, Valencia and Murcia also suffered drops, which could lead to Spain losing its current AA+ status.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), has expressed its concern at Spain’s financial situation at a time of ongoing crisis throughout the Eurozone.

The IMF’s southern Europe representative, Arrigo Sadun, said: “Spain and Italy are doing much to deal with their public finances and their debt problems, but to avoid the contagion in the crisis they also need external support.”