Government of the Virgin Islands received a high level of credit worthiness rating from Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services (CariCRIS) with a stable outlook.

A press release issued by CariCRIS on June 21 stated,“The assignment of the high credit worthiness rating is based on the BVI’s likely support from the British Government as an Overseas Territory, the country’s strong income and economic fundamentals and the fact that dollarisation has supported strong economic fundamentals and trade stability.”

CariCRIS further stated that the BVI’s prudent fiscal policy, guided by the ‘Protocols for Effective Financial Management’ resulting in low debt levels and a generally favourable overall fiscal position, also support the rating.

Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE said that this rating is a reflection of the Government’s efforts to improve the financial security of the Territory.

CariCRIS said, “These rating strengths are tempered by the BVI’s small, narrow economy that increases the risk of volatility of performance as well as the lack of monitoring of external sector data which may hinder targeted policymaking.”

Premier Smith said, “It is clear that the efforts we have made in maintaining a sustainable economy, by remaining committed to effective medium term planning, providing value for money, managing risk, increasing transparency and accountability have resulted in our Territory’s high credit rating.”

The stable outlook is based on the agency’sexpectation for continued improvement in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of between 1 to 2 percent for 2017, supported by good performance of the tourism and the financial services sector. Also supporting the stable outlook is anticipated good control over fiscal operations.

CariCRIS is a regional credit rating agency. CariCRIS credit rating is an objective assessment of an entity's creditworthiness relative to other debt issuing entities. CariCRIS also offers a national scale credit rating where the comparison set is all debt-issuing entities in the financial markets of a single nation.