U.S. financial services company Standard & Poor’s (S&P) announced Thursday that it will likely maintain Colombia’s current credit rating for 2012.
The director of S&P’s Latin American operations, Victor Herrera, acknowledged that Colombia currently maintains a good position within an overall weak global economy. Herrera explained that the country’s rating would depend in part on the government’s ability to implement fiscal measures, especially tax reform.
“In regards to the government’s ability to follow through in the approval of fiscal plans, depending on how positive they are and the agility with which they can approve such plans, [a change in credit rating] could eventually pass,” stated Herrera.
While unsure of any change in the country’s current rating, Herrera approved of the nation’s recent fiscal policies, stating that the country had put itself in a strong position to weather a global economic downturn in comparison to the rest of Latin America.
Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry expressed confidence earlier this month that Colombia’s credit risk, as assigned by S&P, would improve from “stable” to “positive” by 2013.