By Caribbean News Global 
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – On December 12, 2025, Moody’s maintained the government of Trinidad and Tobago’s long-term local and foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured ratings at Ba2.
For reference, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) currently has Trinidad and Tobago’s credit rating at investment grade BBB-.
Moody’s affirmation of Trinidad & Tobago’s Ba2 rating is predicated on the robust credit strengths of our country – including the existence of substantial fiscal buffers such as the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) and cash equivalent assets, amounting to 45 percent of GDP – as well as the expectation of positive oil and gas production developments by 2027.
Moody’s changed the outlook to Negative to reflect what they view as short-term downside risks to the scenario underpinning their ratings – notably based on the decline in the Central Bank’s liquid foreign exchange reserves, which, unfortunately, according to their methodology, does not include the HSF.
“While our credit rating was maintained just as we expected,” says minister Davendranath Tancoo, “my only recommendation was that Moody’s should have taken a few more months to ascertain the impact of the recently implemented government strategies – a comprehensive policy agenda aimed at rebalancing growth, revitalising the economy, securing a sustainable fiscal trajectory and stabilising foreign exchange reserves. To adjust in December prior to affording the measures the opportunity to take effect in fiscal 2026 was too premature in our view.”
“The decline in Moody’s narrow definition of foreign exchange reserves happened to be the contributing factor in their negative outlook. Their definition of foreign exchange reserves not only excludes gold and Special Drawing Rights, but, more critically, ignores all the significant foreign currency assets managed by other economic agents,” the minister added. “Indeed, Trinidad and Tobago’s net international investment position currently stands in surplus of USD 7.5 billion; in other words, our country holds USD 7.5 billion more of US dollar assets, than US dollar debts.”
This is a testament to our foreign currency resilience and also evidences that, on a net debt to GDP basis, we significantly outperform many of our peers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“I am confident,” concludes minister Tancoo, “that the prudent and foresightful management of our significant foreign exchange reserves, in addition to the dynamism of our government’s new macro-fiscal approach, will foster greater economic resilience and drive a stabilisation of our outlook in the near future, as we work towards rating upgrades.”
