Fitch says Türkiye's rating to remain same even without an IMF deal

Reuters - Rating agency Fitch said on Thursday Türkiye might be able to survive without an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal with its current rating intact. Fitch expects more downgrades in emerging Europe after cutting Russia's rating this week. Edward Parker, Head of emerging European sovereigns, said with nine countries in the region on negative outlook and the financial crisis deepening, creditworthiness in a string of countries is deteriorating. In contrast, he said that Türkiye might be able to survive without an IMF deal with its current rating intact. Türkiye has held back from concluding an IMF deal ahead of local elections. "We would see an IMF deal as a positive development for Türkiye" he said. "But if one was not agreed they might be able to find other financing and it would not alone be enough for negative ratings action".