On Nov. 24, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term foreign currency rating on Republic of Iceland to 'BBB-' from 'BBB' due to the sovereign's mounting public sector debt burden. The Transfer&Convertibility assessment on Iceland was also lowered to 'BBB-' from 'A-' in response to controls on the capital account and some current account transactions, which have been in place since early October. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'BBB+/A-2' local currency ratings, and its 'A-3' short-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings. The outlook is negative. In conjunction with these rating actions, Standard&Poor's also lowered its long-term foreign currency rating on Ibudalanasjodur (Housing Financing Fund; HFF), the government-owned enterprise for housing
