Curtis Dickinson has welcomed the affirmation of Bermuda’s A+ credit rating by Standard & Poor’s.Speaking in the House of Assembly on Friday, the finance minister said last month’s report was an “objective endorsement of our fiscal and economic policies”.Mr Dickinson told MPs that S&P had affirmed Bermuda’s A+ long-term sovereign credit and senior unsecured debt ratings as well as its A-1 short-term rating and AA+ transfer and convertibility assessment. “What prompted S&P to perform this analysis on Bermuda, at this particular point in time, is due to the fact that the Government borrowed $170 million to honour its guarantee to the lenders of the Caroline Bay project,” Mr Dickinson said.The trigger of the debt guarantee on the project at Morgan’s Point resulted in the Government raising the debt ceiling to $2.75 billion and opening a $200 million credit facility jointly with Butterfield Bank and HSBC Bermuda in September. S&P recognised that the Government was on track to produce a balanced budget in the current fiscal year and, if this was sustained, to lower the government debt burden. “There was also mention of the Government’s policymaking being effective and predictable,” Mr Dickson said. “These comments highlight the fact that the PLP government remains committed to the island and its economy and demonstrates this through transparent and prudent governance.”He added that the Government “will continue to collaboratively press ahead with our economic and fiscal policies in order to establish a better and fairer Bermuda that was promised in our election platform”. In its November 4 report, S&P noted that the sell-off of equity markets in late 2018 lowered the value of Bermuda’s external government assets, and that, together with the unexpected increase in debt as a result of the Caroline Bay guarantee, had contributed to its net debtor position.The ratings agency added: “Ongoing fiscal consolidation could produce balanced fiscal results and a declining trend in general government debt.”It said that as external asset values recover and the burden of general government debt declines, “there is a chance that Bermuda could regain its net creditor status, possibly by 2021-2022”.Factors that cloud that outlook are the possibility of slowing US economic growth and uncertainty in Bermuda’s international financial sector, S&P added.