Last year marked the sixth consecutive year in which Hungary has reported solid balanced GDP growth. While private debt increased during 2018, both public and overall external debt have continued to decline as a percentage of Hungary's GDP. Unlike previous episodes of strong growth, the Hungarian economy is now less leveraged, the currency floats, and both the government and the private sector finance themselves mainly in local currency. We are therefore upgrading Hungary to 'BBB/A-2' from 'BBB-/A-3'. The outlook is stable. On Feb. 15, 2019, S&P Global Ratings raised its long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Hungary to 'BBB/A-2' from 'BBB-/A-3'. The outlook is stable. At the same time, we revised our transfer and convertibility
