ĐOGO: CREDIT RATING IMPROVEMENT MEANS SRPSKA HAS REVERSED THE TREND

PALE, AUGUST 11 /SRNA/ - The improvement in Republika Srpska’s credit rating shows that Srpska has reversed the trend, Professor Marko Đogo of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Istočno Sarajevo told SRNA.

Đogo stressed that the latest assessment by international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s once again confirms that, at least for the time being, political and financial pressure on Republika Srpska has been eased.

"There is still considerable room for improvement. It would be realistic for Republika Srpska to significantly improve its credit rating over the next few years and bring it closer to Serbia’s credit rating," Đogo said.

He said that Serbia’s credit rating is four notches above the credit ratings of Republika Srpska and BiH, while Croatia’s credit rating is higher than Serbia’s.

"Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that this ‘B’ credit rating still indicates speculative-grade investment, and therefore relatively high risk," Đogo said.

In its latest report following a regular annual assessment, international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s confirmed Republika Srpska’s credit rating at B, while improving its outlook from "negative" to "stable."