S&P affirms Finland's AA+ rating

Rating S&P Global Ratings has maintained Finland's 'AA+' rating, said S&P Global Ratings in a bulletin of its latest rating.

The rating agency affirmed its 'AA+/A-1+' long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Finland at the end of the week.

According to S&P Global Ratings, the outlook remains stable.

In its outlook, S&P Global Ratings pointed out that it could raise the long-term rating if the Finnish economy's external metrics structurally improved, evidenced, for example, by strong and sustained current account surpluses. Greater reform momentum to address challenges posed by a decreasing and aging workforce, resulting in longer-term sustainability of public finances, would be positive for the ratings.

However, the rating agency could consider a negative rating action if structural reforms don't succeed, leading to weaker growth or a substantial deterioration in Finland's fiscal performance, in turn leading to sharply increasing debt.

S&P Global Ratings said that Finland's solid export performance over the past three years is not merely a reflection of strong demand from trading partners. It is also based on the positive effects of the 2016 competitiveness pact, which helped boost

Finland's price competitiveness by extending annual working hours, shifting parts of social security contributions from employers to employees, and reducing public-sector holiday bonuses.

The rating agency also focused on reforms, consumption, investments among other indicators in its latest ratings.