NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Moody’s Investors Service has announced that it has completed a periodic review of ratings of The Bahamas.
The ratings agency noted that it conducts periodic reviews in which it reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers.
“Moody’s has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Bahamas and may include related ratings,” the ratings agency said, noting that the review did not involve a rating committee.
It also noted that the credit profile of the Bahamas (issuer rating Baa3) is supported by the country’s “ba1” economic strength, reflecting the Bahamian economy’s small size, subdued growth, high income levels and exposure to climate event risk.
Moody’s said: “The Bahamas’ “baa2” institutions and governance strength, reflecting a strong institutional quality and an improving set of rules to guide still-developing fiscal policy as the main tool for policymakers in the context of the currency peg; its “b2” fiscal strength, taking account of the government’s high debt burden and low debt affordability; and its “a” susceptibility to event risk, reflecting risks posed by the banking sector, which is large but represents a low contingent liability risk for the government.”
