S&P revises Bahrain, Central Bank of Bahrain to negative

Standard & Poor's said it revised its outlook on the Kingdom of Bahrain to negative from stable and affirmed its BBB/A-2 long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings.

At the same time, the agency revised its outlook on the Central Bank of Bahrain to negative from stable and affirmed its BBB/A-2 long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings.

S&P said it thinks a period of lower oil prices will exacerbate existing structural weaknesses in Bahrain's public finances. If the resulting squeeze on government revenues does not translate into reform that improves the sustainability of Bahrain's fiscal position, this could put pressure on the ratings.

However, the agency’s growth expectations for Bahrain remain stable, linked to forthcoming disbursements from the Gulf Cooperation Council Development Fund and to Bahrain's relatively diversified economic base that government policy has encouraged.

These factors support the ratings, S&P said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.