Jamaica’s NDX Triggers S&P Downgrade. NDX Considered A Default

The Gleaner reports,

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded Jamaica’s debt to junk status, having classified the National Debt Exchange as a default.

Government announced a second domestic debt exchange programme officially launched on Tuesday, that aims to cut J$17 billion in annual interest payments on local bonds.

Jamaica was similarly downgraded when they did the first debt exchange in 2010.

The agency lowered its foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Jamaica to ‘SD’ from ‘B-/B’. Additionally, it lowered its ratings on the bonds that are included in the sovereign’s proposed domestic debt exchange to ‘D’. And it lowered the ratings on the government securities not included in the debt exchange to ‘CCC’.