On Oct. 31, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'AA-' long-term foreign currency and 'AA+' long-term local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Iceland. At the same time, the 'A-1+' short-term foreign and local currency ratings on Iceland were affirmed. The outlook is stable. The full analysis on Iceland is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard&Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, published earlier today. The ratings on Iceland are supported by its stable political institutions, a very wealthy and flexible economy, and healthy public finances. The ratings remain constrained by very high levels both of external financing needs and of external debt throughout the economy. The financial sector in Iceland has recovered from the imbalances
