In a statement on Friday night, Moody's said that it was upgrading Ireland's credit rating by one notch to Baa3, the lowest investment grade. Prior to the financial crisis Ireland held a AAA or "triple A" rating, the highest possible. Moody's also changed the outlook for Ireland's credit rating from stable to positive, holding out the prospects of a further upward re-rating later in the year. Moody's said the reasons for the upgrade were the growth potential of the economy and the Government's exit from the EU-IMF bailout. Ireland is now eligible to investors previously precluded from investing in sub-investment grade bonds