LONDON (Standard&Poor's) June 19, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed all its ratings on the Republic of Iceland, including its 'AA+/A-1+' local currency and 'A+/A-1+' foreign currency issuer credit ratings. The outlook is stable. "Iceland is a wealthy and flexible economy, with GDP per capita forecast to reach $36,870 in 2003," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Kai Stukenbrock. "The economy demonstrated its flexibility through the relatively swift correction of the large macroeconomic imbalances caused by rapid growth in domestic credit and demand in recent years." Credit growth slowed to virtually zero in 2002 from 44% in 2000, and the current account balance returned to a surplus of 0.3% from a deficit of 10.1% over
