Standard & Poors keeps Finland in AA plus

Standard & Poors has maintained the credit rating for Finland at AA plus.

In a statement issued on Friday, the agency noted that the risks to the Finnish recovery persist because progress on competitiveness-enhancing measures is slow and external risks remain.

The agency noted however that in 2015 Finland went out of its three-year recession. Weak growth was chiefly supported by slowly growing domestic demand on the back of low oil prices and weak inflationary trends.

The main drags on Finnish economy are unlikely to fade away in medium term. S&P listed them as weak competitiveness, slow growth in trading partners and decline of traditional industries, such as paper and pulp and information and communications technology.

The agency recalled an agreement between labor unions and employer organizations was reached recently on the competitiveness contract.