- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 04/Jul 18:28

CariCRIS reaffirms NIF’s $4b debt issue

CARIBBEAN Information and Credit Rating Services Ltd (CariCRIS) has reaffirmed the ratings currently assigned to the $4 billion bond (Series B, C and D) of the National Investment Fund Holding Company Ltd (NIF) of CariAA on the regional rating scale and ttAA on the national scale. In a release on July 4, CariCRIS said these ratings indicate a high level of creditworthiness of this debt obligation, adjudged in relation to other obligations in the Caribbean and within TT. CariCRIS also maintained a stable outlook on the ratings. "The stable outlook is based on the high likelihood that NIF will remain profitable over the next 12 to 15 months. "This is expected to be supported by the stable credit risk profiles and performance of the company’s underlying assets. "The outlook is also supported by the high likelihood of sufficient dividend flows from the company’s underlying assets to enable timely coupon payments," the release said. CariCRIS added that given NIF is 100 per cent owned by the government, "there is the likelihood of support if needed." The rating agency, however, cautioned that NIF's rating strengths are tempered by the discretionary nature of its cash flows, primarily sourced from dividends. "There remains a high concentration risk given that 67.8 per cent of the company’s core earnings were derived from one entity in 2024 – Republic Financial Holdings Ltd (RFHL)," CariCRIS said. It added that this risk, however, is somewhat mitigated as RFHL is a large, geographically diversified group, with operations in sixteen territories including TT, Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, the Eastern Caribbean, Cuba and Ghana. The post CariCRIS reaffirms NIF’s $4b debt issue appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.