Peugeot, Fiat Debt Ratings Lowered by Moody’s on Europe Concerns

PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG) and Fiat SpA (F) had their debt ratings lowered by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited concerns that the European automakers’ financial health is deteriorating.

Fiat and Peugeot had their ratings cut one level to Ba3 from Ba2, both with a negative outlook, Moody’s said today in statements. The rating is three levels below investment grade.

The downgrades affect about 14.9 billion euros ($19 billion) of debt and follow a debt crisis in the region that’s sapping demand for cars. The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast yesterday and warned of even slower expansion should European officials fail to address threats to their economies.

About 9.3 billion euros of Fiat debt and 5.6 billion euros of Peugeot debt are affected by the rating actions, Moody’s said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ma Jie in Tokyo at jma124@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net