European utilities are navigating an intensive, multi-year power-grid investment cycle. While capex has risen gradually in recent years, the vast scale of planned upgrades for the decade ahead remains the main challenge to the sector’s credit quality.

The targets of the strategic plan and the bank’s 2025 performance both align with expectations already embedded in our ‘A’/Stable/’‘S1’ ratings.

The root causes of growing credit stress remain firmly in place despite investors’ relatively benign response to structural shifts, leaving a mixed but increasingly negative outlook for corporate credit through the rest of 2026, says Scope Ratings.

Wednesday, 11 February 2026

The EU’s India and Mercosur trade deals are politically relevant amid US trade tensions, but medium-term economic benefits look modest relative to potential gains from deeper intra-EU reforms that are more important for European credit profiles.

Scope Ratings requests comments on proposed revisions to its Sovereign Rating Methodology by 27 February 2026. The revised methodology is not expected to affect sovereign ratings assigned by Scope.

Thursday 29 January 2026 - 15:00 (CET)

Tensions over Greenland and growing political crosswinds in Europe are weighing on the region’s medium-term sovereign outlook despite resilient fundamentals while confidence in the US outlook is eroding amid rising concerns over policy reliability.

JD.com’s arrival in European consumer goods retail sets an important precedent for the sector and represents a further shift in commercial spheres of influence in the region.

Resilient profitability, solid asset quality and capital buffers make for a balanced base case for European banks. Alongside stable expected collateral performance, most covered bond programmes can withstand issuer downgrades of up to three notches.