Moody’s rejected our appeal against negative credit ratings – Government

Moody’s analyst did not understand Ghana’s credit history, Finance Ministry

Government optimistic on Ghana’s future

The Ministry of Finance has disclosed that it appealed the downgrade of Ghana’s credit rating by Moody’s but its appeal was rejected.

A statement released by the Ministry of Finance said government decided to appeal the ratings because it had many inaccuracies.

The statement said Moody’s omitted important information in some of the assumptions it used to make its projections and forecasts.

The government also said it had issues with the appointment of a new primary credit analyst who did not have a good knowledge of Ghana’s credit history.

“The omission of key material information from the assumptions driving some of Moody’s forecasts and projections such as the 2022 budget expenditure control measures, 2022 upfront fiscal adjustments and inaccurate balance of payment statistics.

“The appointment of a new primary credit analyst, only four weeks prior to such a major credit rating decision; and the committee’s refusal to consider deferring such a monumental rating action until the analyst had enough time to more fully understand both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the Ghana credit story,” the statement explained as reasons for the appeal.

The government added that Moody’s conclusions on Ghana’s Environmental, Social and Governance credentials (ESG) were made without any supporting data.

Also, the statement said government was optimistic about Ghana’s future economic performance which has been confirmed by other credit ratings agencies.

“The Government will continue to pursue ongoing efforts to revitalize the economy amidst the COVID pandemic. In line with this, senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana shall continue to engage the public and investors on the Government’s medium-term economic and fiscal strategy,” it said.

Read full statement from the Ministry of Finance below: