13.05.22
S&P Global Ratings Affirms Iceland‘s ratings at ‘A/A-1'; Outlook Remains Stable

International rating agency S&P Global Ratings has affirmed Iceland‘s sovereign ratings at A/A-1 with a stable outlook.

Iceland's economy has continued to recover, growing by more than 4% in 2021 backed by strong domestic demand. S&P expects that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will have a limited impact on Iceland's economy given its minimal direct trade links with those countries and overall limited need for energy commodity imports. The agency also expects fiscal consolidation to accelerate this year, with government debt net of liquid assets settling at about 42% of GDP over the medium term.
The stable outlook indicates S&P‘s expectation that Iceland's economy will continue to recover and remain relatively unaffected by the war in Ukraine. The agency believes fiscal deficits will continue to decrease over the next few years, stabilizing the debt to GDP ratio net of liquid assets. At the same time, ample foreign reserves will enable the CBI to deal with external pressures or exchange-rate volatility, should they occur.

According to S&P, the agency could raise the ratings if economic growth exceeds expectations, which would likely coincide with stronger export growth and export categories becoming more diverse, reducing external debt or the volatility in Iceland's terms of trade. The agency could lower the ratings if the effects of the war in Ukraine became more pronounced, for example through second-round effects due to lower economic activity in Iceland's main trading partners in Europe or a shift in global travel preferences. The latter could also occur if the pandemic re-emerged, particularly in the form of new and more malignant variants.

S&P press release (pdf)

Aðrar fréttir

Jun 30 2025
Annual prospects
Quarterly Government Debt Management Prospect

Third quarter 2025

  • In Q3, Government bonds will be offered for sale in the amount of 30-40 b.kr. market value.
  • The bonds that could conceivably be offered are all benchmark Government issues, and issue size and market conditions will determine how much, if any, will be sold in each series.
  • During the quarter, it is planned to issue bonds in the inflation-linked RIKS 29 0917 series, with market making.
  • It is possible that a switch auction of RIKS 26 0216 will be held during the quarter.

GDM Q3 Prospect 2025.pdf

Treasury Bond Auction Announcement - RIKB 28 1115 - RIKB 38 0215
Series RIKB 28 1115 RIKB 38 0215
ISIN IS0000028249 IS0000037265
Maturity Date 11/15/2028 02/15/2038
Auction Date 06/20/2025 06/20/2025
Settlement Date 06/25/2025 06/25/2025
10% addition 06/24/2025 06/24/2025

On the Auction Date, between 10:30 am and 11:00 am, the Government Debt Management will auction Treasury bonds in the Series, with the ISIN numbers and with the Maturity Dates according to the table above. Payments for the Treasury bonds must be received by the Central Bank before 14:00 on the Settlement Date, and the Bonds will be delivered in electronic form on the same day. Article 6 of the General Terms of Auction for Treasury bonds applies for the right to purchase an additional 10%.

Further reference is made to the description of the Treasury bond and the General Terms of Auction for Treasury bonds on the Government Debt Management website.

For additional information please contact Oddgeir Gunnarsson, Government Debt Management, at +354 569 9635.