Castries, St.Lucia.
-Persistent and severe deterioration in government’s fiscal position and a resultant steady increase in debt stock are among reasons which the Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS) has cited for its decision to downgrade St Lucia’s credit ratings.
CariCRIS is a regional credit rating agency, with a market-driven initiative aimed at fostering and supporting the development of regional debt markets.
In a statement the agency said it had downgraded its ratings on the government’s debt issues by one notch on its regional scale, taking it from B+ to B or CariBBB.
While noting that government has an adequate level of creditworthiness, based on current ratings, CariCRIS said there were shortcomings in the country’s financial position.
The agency pointed to a steady fall in the fiscal current account balance, save for the 2011/12 financial year.
It said St Lucia had moved from a surplus of 4.9 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) in 2008/09, to a deficit of 1.2 percent in 2012/13 – its first year of deficit in the last decade.
That shortfall, according to CariCris, was brought on by a reduction in current revenue.
