Rising Barbados debt a concern for S&P

(Barbados Nation) A day after Central Bank Governor Dr Delisle Worrell offered some positive reassurance about the performance of the Barbados economy, the international rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has sounded the warning that it is not yet out of the woods.

Olga Kalinina, a top S&P analyst, who was recently in Barbados meeting with Government officials and other key economic players, told the WEEKEND NATION in an exclusive interview yesterday that the island’s rising debt profile remained a source of concern.

She also cautioned that there was a “rising probability” that Barbados’ credit rating could be downgraded to junk bond status over the next 12 months.

Last November, S&P lowered the country’s rating to BBB-minus with a negative outlook.

Kalinina said there was a real danger of it falling even further but said it would depend on performance.