Barbados Downgraded To 'CCC+/C' On Limited Financing Alternatives And Low International Reserves; Outlook Is Negative

OVERVIEW Increased reliance on central bank financing of the still-high government deficit and the fall in international reserves reflect heightened challenges for policy implementation, the sustainability of the peg to the U.S. dollar, and underpin expected weaker growth prospects in Barbados. As a result, we are lowering our long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Barbados to 'CCC+' from 'B-'. We are also lowering our short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings to 'C' from 'B'. The negative outlook reflects our view that the government's ability or willingness to take timely steps to redress deficit and financing pressures and bolster international reserves will likely deteriorate further. RATING ACTION On March 3, 2017, S&P Global Ratings lowered its

...OVERVIEW + Increased reliance on central bank financing of the still-high government deficit and the fall in international reserves reflect heightened challenges for policy implementation, the sustainability of the peg to the U.S. dollar, and underpin expected weaker growth prospects in Barbados. + As a result, we are lowering our long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Barbados to '###+' from 'B-'. + We are also lowering our short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings to 'C' from 'B'. + The negative outlook reflects our view that the government's ability or willingness to take timely steps to redress deficit and financing pressures and bolster international reserves will likely deteriorate further. RATING ACTION On March 3, 2017, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign ratings on Barbados to '###+' from 'B-'. The outlook is negative. We also lowered the short-term ratings to 'C' from 'B.' At the same time,...

Ratings Action