Moody’s sees Asian ratings risks from US, ECB, China

The credit rating trend for corporates in Asia is seen stabilizing in 2017, but uncertainty in the global capital markets that may arise from policy moves by the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and China could disrupt that stability, Moody’s Investors Service warned.

Moody’s explained in a report released on Monday – “Credit Strategy & Standards: Asian Non-Financial Corporates’ Negative Rating Trend Will Likely Moderate in 2017 – that more US Fed rate hikes, China’s tightening of capital controls and less asset purchases by the ECB could cause uncertainty for the capital markets and hurt Asian ratings.