Fitch: Poland would benefit least from euro adoption

Fitch Ratings says in a new report that euro adoption in non-euro central and eastern Europe (CEE) countries would be neutral to positive on sovereign creditworthiness, with foreign currency ratings likely to be upgraded by up to one notch, or two in exceptional cases. "Poland (A-/Stable rating) and the Czech Republic (A+/Stable) would likely benefit least from euro adoption. The two countries would abandon a credible and independent monetary policy framework that has helped support macroeconomic adjustments. In Poland, the EMU would strengthen external finances, a key rating weakness, but the bulk of foreign currency loans to households are in Swiss francs," rating agency states. Moreover, Fitch observed especially strong euroscepticism among the governments in Poland and Hungary. Howerver, based on Fitch's calculation, Poland meets all the convergence criteria except participation in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II. In January, Fitch Ratings had affirmed Poland's Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'A-' and 'A', respectively, assessing the outlooks as stable.