Continuing his attack on Standard & Poor's for downgrading Turkey's economic outlook, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to cancel its annual contract with the global credit rating agency.
He said he found S&P's decision to lower Turkey's economic outlook from positive to negative utterly ideological. "We sign a contract with the S&P every year. We may review it and cancel it unilaterally if needed. We are working on this issue. There is no obstacle against this," he told Turkish journalists accompanying him in his visit to Pakistan on Tuesday.
Signaling that Turkey may found its own rating agency, he said "it is highly beneficial to take such a step. [The Turkish rating agency] may find members," he was quoted by Turkish media as saying.
Erdogan said it was not possible to deem global rating agencies free of political agendas. "They try to upgrade the rating of a country that is going bankrupt, but they downgrade ours. Another agency has downgraded Greece's rating from BB to CC. We will discuss these agencies at the G-20," he said.
S&P downgraded Turkey's outlook from 'Positive' to 'Stable' on May 1, drawing fire from the Prime Minister since then. S&P officials have said Turkey's rating was not downgraded and that the negative outlook assessment was due to European economic woes which may have adverse effects on the country.
Asked whether canceling contracts with other rating agencies such as Moody's and Fitch would pose a risk for the Turkish economy, Erdogan said: "They do not determine contract debts. They only make your work easier. You might end up scampering around a little more [in order to secure loans]." The fact that Turkey does not make "imaginary budgets" has earned the country confidence in the world, he claimed.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.