CDB’s challenges

Bleak economic prospects in the region may put the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) at risk for further downgrades in its credit rating, says president Dr Warren Smith.
Six months after the bank was downgraded by both Moody’s Investment Service and Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s), the latter announced on Wednesday that it had once again dropped the bank’s rating by a notch from AA+ with a stable outlook to AA with a negative outlook.
During a Press conference at the CDB’s Wildey, St Michael headquarters yesterday, Smith said the bank had largely addressed the internal concerns identified by the agencies in their May and June reviews.
However, he said, external factors along with a change in S&P’s rating methodology had contributed significantly to the most recent decision. (NB)