THE RECENT CREDIT DOWNGRADE of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is understandable in the present economic climate but the bank remains vital for regional development, says Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.
Speaking to the media at his annual Christmas party at Ilaro Court on Saturday, he said the second downgrade of the bank in six months by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s last Wednesday, was “the flavour” of this difficult economic period.
“There are problems with the borrowing countries of the bank but there are also problems with the non-borrowing countries of the bank, and therefore it is understandable that the bank would be put under some pressure. These are the things to be expected in a period as volatile and as difficult as this,” he stated.
Stuart said, however, that he did not expect that those problems would continue indefinitely, since Barbados had also suffered its own series of downgrades earlier in the year while life had continued. (RJ)
