MNI BRIEF: Italy Debt Sustainability Remains Issue: Scope

Despite the near record-low cost of borrowing and EU fiscal support measures, Italy's debt sustainability at nearly 160% of GDP remains a significant challenge, ratings agency Scope said Tuesday,

"We consider government projections for a reduction in Italy's public debt ratio of more than 23pps over the next decade as optimistic," says Dennis Shen, lead analyst at Scope for Italy's sovereign ratings, downplaying Italy's plans to address the issue.

In recent weeks, Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco argued the debt was sustainable and the debt burden was the most important metric.

Scope revised the Outlook on Italy's BBB+ sovereign ratings from Stable to Negative in May.