Guernsey assigned AA+ rating by S&P

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has assigned Guernsey an ‘AA+’ credit rating with a stable outlook.

“The ratings on Guernsey reflect our view of its high wealth and its strong, transparent, and effective policy settings. Guernsey's robust fiscal position, underpinned by high quality public-sector assets, also supports the ratings,” said S&P.

“These strengths are moderated by Guernsey's dependence on its financial services sector, lack of monetary policy flexibility, and data deficiencies on the external side that hamper our full assessment of external risks.”

The rating agency added that besides uncertainties about the growth prospects of key European trading partners, the main external risk to Guernsey is the potential tightening of international financial-sector regulations, which would affect offshore financial hubs globally.

It added that another risk is that taxation agreements could pressure the government's fiscal position.