On April 8, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Barbados to negative from stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'BBB+/A-2' foreign-currency and 'A-/A-2' local-currency sovereign credit ratings on Barbados. In addition, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'A-' transfer and convertibility assessment on the sovereign. The ratings on Barbados reflect the country's social cohesion and political stability as well as the fiscal flexibility that the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) surpluses provide. At the same time, the growing fiscal deficits and ensuing increase in the government debt burden do not bode well for the country's long-standing commitment to maintain the currency peg. The central government deficit (which includes off-budget spending) widened to 6.6% of
