NOT FAIR. That, essentially, was the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs’ response yesterday to Moody’s Investors Service triple notch downgrade of Barbados’ credit rating from BA3 to B3.
In its first statement on the downgrade five days ago, the ministry accused Moody’s of rushing to judgement with its “highly negative conclusions” and failing to adequately take into consideration the nuances of the Barbados economy.
Stressing that devaluation of the Barbados dollar was not an option, it charged that Moody’s undervalued the commitment of the Government and average Barbadians to make any necessary adjustments to protect this country’s exchange rate and meet our financial commitments.
The ministry stated that Moody’s “drastic” action had been interpreted by some as evidence that the economic situation here had worsened over the six months since that agency’s previous review, but this was far from the case.
