By NAN Business Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Feb. 19, 2016: Credit for individuals is everything and the same goes for countries globally. Every year, credit rating agencies like Standard & Poor, Moody’s and Fitch release reports of countries’ credit ratings. So how do Caribbean nations stack up on the credit side? Here are the countries with the best credit ratings in the Caribbean:
1: Cayman Islands: The British Caribbean islands of the Cayman Islands came in at number one with a score of 85 and an Aa3 rating from Fitch making it a stable economy.
2: Bermuda: Bermuda, another British Caribbean island, also scored high with ratings agency. It received an overall 80 score with an A+ rating from S&P and an A1 from Moodys to also make this island’s economy very stable.
3: Aruba: While not as high as its British Caribbean counterparts, Aruba, a Dutch-Caribbean territory, was also considered a stable economy overall with a score of 60 and a BBB+ rating from S&P.
4: Montserrat: With a BBB- and a score of 55, the British territory of Montserrat was also deemed stable by economic analysts.
5: Suriname: The fifth most stable economy in the region based on the overall credit ratings is Suriname. This former Dutch Caribbean territory was listed at BB- with an overall score of 40, making it also a stable market.
6: Dominican Republic: Listed as the sixth most stable economy in the Caribbean is the Dominican Republic. This country earned a BB+ rating from Fitch and an overall score of 36 to also make it into the “stable” ranks.
7: Jamaica: Jamaica was right behind with a stable B rating and an overall score of 26, making it the seventh most stable credit worthy economy in the Caribbean.
8: Belize: With an overall score of 20, Belize managed to still score a B- and stable rating in general.
9: Cuba: Despite an overall score of 15 and a Caa2 credit rating from Moody’s, Cuba was the only country in the region whose economy was listed as “Positive” and not merely “stable” in terms of overall growth and credit worthiness.
Most other economies listed in the region, including Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, The Bahamas and Puerto Rico was listed as “negative” growth nations.
