Iceland
11/15/2021
PRIMARY CONTACT
This report does not constitute a rating action.

Niklas Steinert
Frankfurt
49-693-399-9248
niklas.steinert@spglobal.com

Credit Highlights

SECONDARY CONTACT

Overview
Institutional and economic profile

Flexibility and performance profile

The economic recovery has been stronger than S&P
Global Ratings expected

Fiscal and monetary policy support has proveneffective and is being phased out as the economy
recovers--Strong domestic demand will push real GDP growth
above 4% this year; rising external demand, also in
tourism, will support real growth of 4.5% next year.

--Economic recovery will support revenue and resultin lower deficits in 2021; subsequent consolidation
will stabilize the debt burden over the medium term.

--Despite risks to the tourism recovery, we believe themedium-term growth trajectory will be strong, andsupported by a public investment program.

--Monetary policy support was effective in stabilizing
the exchange rate and is being rolled back; the central
bank's reserves remain high.

--The results of the recent general elections point topolicy continuity.

--Despite a significant hit to the country's mostimportant export sector, external balances remainstrong, and Iceland has strengthened its net external
creditor position.

Maxim Rybnikov
London44-7824-478-225
maxim.rybnikov@spglobal.com
RESEARCH CONTRIBUTOR
Srijan Sil
CRISIL Global Analytical Center,an S&P Global Ratings affiliate
Pune

Iceland is a small and open economy, which has been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but is on track for recovery. Tourism
directly represented 8% of GDP and more than one-third of exports in 2019. However, economic and external pressures have been
fairly manageable so far, also due to effective monetary and fiscal policies supporting domestic demand. Accordingly, the economic
recovery appears well on track and stronger-than-expected growth has allowed authorities to roll back extensive policy support
measures. We therefore expect fiscal deficits to fall significantly after 2021, which will limit the increase in the country's debt burden
over the coming years.
Even though fiscal deficits were significant in 2020 and 2021, we note that they have been largely financed from domestic sources atfavorable conditions. Furthermore, the current account remained largely balanced over the past few months, despite the significant
hit to Iceland's most important export sector. The resilient balance of payments, low net external leverage, and strong central bankforeign currency reserves provide further economic buffers and represent a significant difference compared with the 2008-2009
financial crisis.

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November 15, 2021

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Iceland

Iceland's stable institutional framework and effective policymaking also support the ratings. That said, the ratings are constrained by
the volatile nature of Iceland's small and open economy and limited effectiveness of monetary policy, given the small size of thecurrency area and strong influence of external developments on domestic inflation trends.

OutlookThe stable outlook indicates that Iceland's economic recovery is well on track and will continue over the next 12-18 months.
Authorities are gradually rolling back much of the fiscal and monetary policy support that limited the economic contraction andexchange rate volatility during the pandemic. This will limit the increase in public debt over the next few years.

Downside scenario
We could lower the ratings on Iceland if the economic recovery proves shallower or takes longer than we expect, for example, if the
tourism sector remains more permanently depressed compared to prepandemic levels. This could occur if the pandemic resurges orthere is a prolonged shift in travel patterns. In such a scenario, we consider that monetary and fiscal support could become a morepermanent feature of Iceland's policy mix and erode policy space, and net general government debt levels would rise materiallybeyond our expectations.

Upside scenario
We could raise the ratings if the recovery from the pandemic exceeds our expectations and the Icelandic economy and export
categories become more diverse, reducing the volatility in Iceland's terms of trade. This scenario could enable even quicker fiscal
consolidation than we expect, putting the government's debt burden on a firm downward trend to close to prepandemic levels, as ashare of GDP.

Rationale
Institutional and economic profile: GDP has recovered quicker than initially expected, supported by buoyant domestic demand
Iceland’s economic recovery appears on track this year. Although risks remain, mostly to Iceland’s large tourism sector, domestic
demand--in the form of strong private consumption and significant public and private investment activity--will likely result in real
GDP growth of above 4% this year. The current growth trajectory means the country will likely reach prepandemic real GDP levels insecond-half 2022, about six months earlier than we initially estimated. Overall, Iceland's economic base is fairly concentrated and its
main export sectors comprise tourism, marine, and metals (aluminum), which have all seen positive developments this year. Notably:•••High commodity prices are improving Iceland’s terms of trade;
Marine exports have increased this year and fishing quotas have been raised for 2022; andTourism arrivals in the past few months have recovered to 60% of 2019 levels and related spending is already at over 80% of2019 levels.

Tourism receipts previously accounted for one-third of Icelandic exports, and we expect further recovery over the coming months.
Iceland has one of the highest vaccination rates globally and vaccination efforts in its most important trading partners--the U.S. andEU--have progressed strongly, which means most containment measures and travel restrictions could already be lifted. If the
tourism sector recovers further next year, headline real GDP growth in 2022 could outperform our current projection of 4.3%.
However, there is a degree of uncertainly attached to our base-line forecasts. Iceland's economy is small and open, and it has apopulation of just 370,000. Its GDP was about $22 billion in 2020. In our view, the country has been, and remains, susceptible toexternal shocks and shifts in terms of trade. For example, if vaccines prove ineffective against new strains of COVID-19, or if there is a
protracted shift in global travel preferences, tourism could suffer. The shock to the tourism industry last year followed a decade of
rapid growth; the number of visitors to Iceland increased about fivefold from 2010-2019. In turn, the sector's relatively high laborintensity could mean a more permanent rise in unemployment figures, although we note that they have moved close to 2019 levels
already. The government will therefore continue to roll back support to the labor market.

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IcelandIn our view, Iceland's institutional arrangements remain a key rating strength, with functioning checks and balances between various
state bodies. The swift and effective policy responses to the pandemic from several Icelandic institutions underpin our view ofgenerally effective and stable policymaking. The government also had a broadly consensus-oriented approach to rolling out its policy
response. Although a new government has yet to be formed after the recent general elections, the results point toward policy
continuity under the three parties that span the political spectrum.
Flexibility and performance profile: Fiscal and external pressures have been less severe than initially expected and COVID-19-related
policy support is currently being withdrawn
Like its better-than-expected economic recovery, Iceland’s fiscal deficits were lower than we initially projected over the past two
years, which puts fiscal consolidation, starting next year, on a sound footing. Fiscal support was still significant this year which is why
we believe deficits in 2021 will remain close to 2020 levels, at slightly below 7% of GDP, but much better than the government’s initialbudget. This is mostly because revenue exceeded expectations on the back of a stronger economic recovery and higher inflation. In
addition, public finances benefitted from the sale of a significant stake in publicly owned Islandsbanki.
Given the strong recovery this year, we expect most fiscal support measures will be rolled back by year-end 2021. About half of the
fiscal deterioration in 2020 and 2021 represents the effects of automatic stabilizers kicking in to provide economic relief, as the tax
burden decreased and social transfers increased. For 2021, the government's planned fiscal measures included specific tax waivers
and reimbursements, continuous labor market and wage support, additional social and health care spending, and an uptick in public
investments. We therefore expect that deficits will narrow from 2022 as the government begins reverting to its previous, prudent
fiscal stance. That said, the government does not wish to withdraw policy support too quickly and it has suspended its own fiscal
rules until 2025 to allow for gradual consolidation. We consider that the authorities would be willing to extend more fiscal support tothe economy if the recovery is delayed or shallower than expected over the coming years.
In our view, Iceland entered the COVID-19-linked recession with ample fiscal flexibility to support the economy. The country's net
general government debt declined to 35% of GDP in 2019 from a peak of close to 80% of GDP in 2011. Although debt will remain
higher in the next few years than in 2019, we think that net government debt, net of liquid assets, will stabilize at 45%-50% of GDP
until 2024.
Iceland's debt profile has improved significantly in recent years. Unlike the past, about 70%-75% of government debt is now held
domestically and only about 25% of gross government debt is denominated in foreign currency. In recent months, authorities haveplaced foreign currency debt issuance proceeds as deposits at the central bank, to bolster foreign exchange reserves. Meanwhile, thegovernment has covered its budget deficits predominantly with issuances on the domestic market at favorable conditions since thepandemic started.
In addition, the government has drawn on the liquid assets of one of its 100% state-owned enterprises--the Housing Financing Fund
(HFF). The HFF was previously used to provide affordable housing loans in Iceland but had been in wind-down mode followingchanges to the government's housing policy. Authorities are effectively managing the HFF and treasury liquidity positions jointly.
Total funding from the HFF extended to the government in 2020 and 2021 almost covered half of the budget deficit, but we expect
this funding practice will not be used in future years. These additional domestic financing options, as well as the very low interest
costs for foreign issuances, helped the government further reduce its financing costs. We expect the government interest bill tostabilize at 5%-6% of revenue in the medium term.
For now, we continue to exclude the HFF's liabilities and annual net income from our general government data, despite their recent
inclusion in the data reported by the national statistical office. The HFF's balance sheet size is close to 23% of GDP, and we consider
it a contingent liability for the government, given the government's ultimate collection guarantee on the HFF's outstanding debt.
Despite being liquid, the HFF bears long-term interest risk on its balance sheet, resulting in negative equity and the necessity for thegovernment to contribute additional equity to the institution to honor its liabilities. However, this will not be needed for several years.
The estimated shortfall is already incorporated into our general government debt calculations, even though the HFF's full liabilities
are not. Overall, the total stock of government guarantees remains high, but decreasing, since the HFF's balance sheet is shrinking
over time. We expect guarantees will amount to about 27% GDP, with the lion's share pertaining to the HFF.
Parallel with the government's fiscal support, the Central Bank of Iceland (CBI) mobilized monetary policy support at the start of thepandemic. This included a significant cut to the policy rate, by a cumulative 200 basis points; foreign exchange interventions of wellwww.spglobal.com/ratingsdirect

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Icelandover €1 billion; adjustments to several macroprudential measures related to bank regulation; and an open market purchasing
program for the treasury's bonds (which has barely been used--the total amount is about 0.6% of GDP). These policy measures havehelped support the economy, complementing the government's fiscal efforts and reducing exchange rate volatility. Icelandaccumulated net foreign currency reserves in recent years, on the back of previously strong tourism sector performance. This
provided the CBI additional policy room, especially regarding the significant foreign exchange sales this year and in 2020. Given thestrong economic recovery and stabilization of the exchange rate, the CBI has already rolled back most of its accommodative policies,
also with a view of rising inflation rates.
Fundamentally, however, we view Iceland's monetary policy effectiveness as generally constrained. The underlying economy
represents one of the smallest currency areas globally and domestic inflation levels are largely determined by foreign developments.
The country's real effective exchange rate also tends to fluctuate over the economic cycle and could be subject to large valuation
swings, exacerbating the cyclicality inherent in the economy.
Inflation levels have remained above the CBI's 2.5% target since the beginning of the pandemic but, parallel to global trends, haverecently increased and stood at 4.5% in October. However, we think that inflation will decrease closer to the CBI's target in 2022 forseveral reasons:••••

Although import prices are rising, as they are globally, Iceland is less affected than other countries by current supply side
disruptions given its economic structure;
The pass-through from last year’s depreciation of the Icelandic krona (ISK) has subsided;
House prices are an important driver of current inflation levels, but the rollback of accommodative monetary policies should
ensure that further increases are more limited; andRising gas prices will have very little effect on Iceland given the marginal role of gas in its energy mix.

In the absence of further depreciation, we believe the current rollback of monetary policy support, also through policy rate hikes, will
support decreasing inflation levels.
Iceland's current account has remained strong throughout the pandemic and even reported a small surplus in 2020, despite thesignificant contraction of the country's most important export sector. However, the export of goods and services in other sectors heldup, partially helped by ISK depreciation. Although strong domestic demand has recently increased imports, we believe rising services
exports, including in tourism, and higher net primary income, based on strong net investment returns, will keep the current account ina small surplus over the coming years. We note ISK appreciation and an increase in domestic demand, for example, throughincreased public investments, could exert some downside pressures on our current account projections in the near term. Iceland's
prepandemic current account surpluses averaged over 6% of GDP from 2013-2019, which supported external deleveraging following
the global financial crisis. Since 2016, Iceland has been in a net external asset position, which increased significantly during the
pandemic, and we expect it to reach 35%-40% of GDP at year-end 2021. This includes significant foreign exchange reserves at thecentral bank of about $7 billion, or close to 30% of GDP.
We also expect the pandemic's effects will continue to weigh on Icelandic banks' earnings, but conditions are improving. We projectcredit losses will remain close to pre-COVID-19 levels in the coming two years, after the one-off hit in 2020. Banks’ still-elevated loss
reserves will gradually normalize, although they should retain adequate cover amid an expected modest rise in nonperforming assets
to slightly over 5% of total assets in the next two years (from about 3% in 2019).
We believe Iceland's banks will remain strongly capitalized, but their concentration in domestic tourism and commercial real estateremains a key risk. Notably, 10% of lending for systemically important banks is related to domestic tourism, which increases overallbanking system risks compared to those in peer countries. Still, banks entered the pandemic on a much stronger footing than whenthe 2008 financial crisis started. They have relatively solid balance sheets and private sector debt has stabilized. Therefore, we
believe the financial sector poses a limited contingent liability for the government.

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Iceland

Iceland--Selected Indicators
2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021bc2022bc2023bc2024bc2,310.92,512.1

2,642.0

2,844.7

3,047.7

2,941.1

3,181.1

3,408.4

3,581.0

3,744.0

Nominal GDP (bil. $)

17.5

20.8

24.7

26.3

24.9

21.7

25.1

27.3

29.4

31.2

GDP per capita (000s $)

53.2

62.5

73.1

75.4

69.6

59.6

67.6

72.3

76.8

80.4

Real GDP growth

4.4

6.3

4.2

4.9

2.4

(6.5)

4.1

4.3

2.5

2.3

Real GDP per capita growth

3.4

5.2

2.4

1.9

(0.0)

(8.3)

2.1

2.8

1.0

0.7

Real investment growth

21.5

18.0

10.6

3.1

(2.1)

(8.7)

3.9

2.0

3.5

2.0

Investment/GDP

19.4

21.1

21.7

22.3

21.2

21.6

21.5

21.1

21.3

21.2

Savings/GDP

25.9

29.2

26.0

25.8

27.0

22.5

21.9

23.1

22.6

22.6

Exports/GDP

51.7

47.5

45.7

46.6

44.3

34.2

39.3

43.6

45.1

46.4

Real exports growth

9.0

11.0

5.1

1.7

(4.7)

(30.2)

20.0

15.0

6.0

5.0

Unemployment rate

4.5

3.3

3.3

3.1

3.9

6.4

6.5

5.3

4.9

4.5

Current account balance/GDP

6.5

8.1

4.2

3.5

5.8

0.9

0.5

2.0

1.3

1.4

Current account balance/CARs

11.5

15.1

8.5

7.0

12.1

2.4

1.1

4.2

2.7

2.8

CARs/GDP

56.3

53.6

49.8

50.4

48.3

37.8

43.1

47.8

49.2

50.4

Trade balance/GDP

(1.4)

(3.9)

(6.2)

(5.7)

(4.1)

(3.1)

(3.3)

(2.8)

(3.3)

(3.3)

Net FDI/GDP

4.0

3.5

0.7

(1.8)

(2.8)

(3.1)

(3.0)

(2.5)

(2.0)

(2.0)

Net portfolio equity inflow/GDP

(2.2)

(6.0)

(1.1)

(1.3)

(0.4)

(3.4)

(1.5)

(2.0)

(2.0)

(2.0)

Gross external financing needs/CARs plus
usable reserves

92.7

89.7

79.9

84.7

81.4

80.5

86.3

84.8

87.1

87.7

Narrow net external debt/CARs

142.2

56.2

52.6

42.7

39.8

67.1

55.9

49.9

47.4

46.0

Narrow net external debt/CAPs

160.7

66.2

57.4

45.9

45.3

68.7

56.5

52.1

48.7

47.4

Net external liabilities/CARs

9.5

(4.8)

(4.7)

(17.4)(41.4)(97.1)(86.1)(82.5)(84.9)(87.9)Net external liabilities/CAPs

10.7

(5.6)

(5.1)

(18.7)(47.0)(99.5)(87.0)(86.1)(87.3)(90.5)

Short-term external debt by remaining
maturity/CARs

41.6

44.3

35.3

33.9

36.4

49.4

38.6

34.6

32.0

30.1

Usable reserves/CAPs (months)

5.5

6.2

7.7

6.4

7.2

10.2

7.2

6.7

6.0

5.6

4,895.1

7,230.6

6,575.3

6,327.9

6,787.2

6,420.8

7,000.0

7,000.0

7,100.0

7,200.0

Balance/GDP

(1.0)

(3.3)

0.6

0.8

(1.5)

(7.1)

(6.9)

(4.7)

(3.4)

(2.7)

Change in net debt/GDP

(2.5)

(3.5)

(1.8)

(4.3)

8.2

5.5

4.9

4.7

3.1

2.7

Primary balance/GDP

3.4

0.6

4.4

3.6

1.0

(4.8)

(4.6)

(2.5)

(1.1)

(0.4)

Revenue/GDP

40.3

41.2

43.1

42.2

39.7

40.7

41.5

40.5

40.0

40.0

Expenditures/GDP

41.3

44.4

42.5

41.4

41.2

47.8

48.4

45.2

43.4

42.7

Interest/revenues

10.9

9.5

8.9

6.7

6.3

5.8

5.5

5.5

5.6

5.7

Debt/GDP

64.9

51.2

43.2

37.1

44.1

55.8

57.0

55.5

54.6

54.9

Economic indicators (%)
Nominal GDP (bil. ISK)

External indicators (%)

Usable reserves (Mil. $)Fiscal indicators (general
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Iceland

Iceland--Selected Indicators
Debt/revenues

161.2

124.4

100.1

88.0

110.9

137.1

137.3

137.1

136.4

137.2

Net debt/GDP

46.4

39.2

35.4

28.6

34.9

41.7

43.5

45.3

46.2

46.9

Liquid assets/GDP

18.6

12.1

7.7

8.5

9.2

14.1

13.5

10.3

8.4

8.0

CPI growth

1.6

1.7

1.8

2.7

3.0

2.8

4.3

2.8

2.4

2.3

GDP deflator growth

6.1

2.3

0.9

2.7

4.6

3.2

3.9

2.7

2.5

2.3

Exchange rate, year-end (ISK/$)

129.6

112.8

104.4

116.3

121.1

127.2

126.1

124.0

119.8

119.8

Banks' claims on resident non-gov't sector
growth

(0.3)

1.7

6.8

9.0

4.1

4.7

7.0

5.0

4.0

4.0

Banks' claims on resident non-gov't
sector/GDP

136.6

127.7

129.6

131.3

127.6

138.5

137.0

134.2

132.9

132.2

Foreign currency share of claims by banks
on residents

9.4

9.0

9.7

10.4

12.8

13.3

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Foreign currency share of residents' bankdeposits

16.5

8.6

9.7

12.2

12.3

10.8

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Real effective exchange rate growth

2.6

12.5

12.0

(2.6)

(6.7)

(7.6)

0

0

0

0

Monetary indicators (%)

Sources: Statistics Iceland (Economic Indicators), Central Bank of Iceland, The Government of Iceland External Indicators), Statistics Iceland, Central
Bank of Iceland (Fiscal Indicators), and Central Bank of Iceland, IMF (Monetary Indicators).
Adjustments: Government debt adjusted by including loans from Norges Bank and the IMF. Government fiscal metrics exclude the Icelandic Housing
Financing Fund. External metrics exclude debt from previous DMBs in settlement proceedings.
Definitions: Savings is defined as investment plus the current account surplus (deficit). Investment is defined as expenditure on capital goods, including
plant, equipment, and housing, plus the change in inventories. Banks are other depository corporations other than the central bank, whose liabilities areincluded in the national definition of broad money. Gross external financing needs are defined as current account payments plus short-term external
debt at the end of the prior year plus nonresident deposits at the end of the prior year plus long-term external debt maturing within the year. Narrow net
external debt is defined as the stock of foreign and local currency public- and private- sector borrowings from nonresidents minus official reserves
minus public-sector liquid claims on nonresidents minus financial-sector loans to, deposits with, or investments in nonresident entities. A negative
number indicates net external lending. N/A- Not applicable. ISK--Icelandic krona. CARs--Current account receipts. FDI--Foreign direct investment.
CAPs--Current account payments. The data and ratios above result from S&P Global Ratings' own calculations, drawing on national as well asinternational sources, reflecting S&P Global Ratings' independent view on the timeliness, coverage, accuracy, credibility, and usability of available
information.

Ratings Score Snapshot
Key rating factors

Institutional assessment

Economic assessment

Score

2

2

Explanation
Generally strong, but relatively shorter track record of policies that deliver sustainablepublic finances and consistently balanced economic growth over the long term. Generally
effective checks and balances and free flow of information through society. Statisticalinformation is generally timely and reliable.
Based on GDP per capita ($) as per the Selected Indicators table above.
The economy is concentrated in fishing, aluminum, and tourism. The metals and fishingsectors together account for over 20% of GDP and are subject to volatility due to changing
aluminum prices and varying fishing catch levels. Before the pandemic, the tourism industry
also accounted for well over 20% of GDP, including direct and indirect effects.
Based on narrow net external debt and gross external financing needs as per Selected
Indicators in Table 1.
Iceland's net international investment position is more favorable than the narrow net
external debt position by over 100% of current accounts receipts (CARs), as per Selected
Indicators in Table 1.

External assessment

3

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The country is exposed to significant volatility in terms of trade, due to its dependence on
tourism exports and changes in metal prices.

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IcelandFiscal assessment:
flexibility and performance

Fiscal assessment: debt
burden4

4

Monetary assessment

4

Indicative ratinga+Notches of supplemental
adjustments and flexibility-1

Based on the general government balance (% of GDP) as per Selected Indicators in Table 1.
Based on net general government debt (% of GDP) and general government interest
expenditure (% of general government revenue) as per Selected Indicators in Table 1.
Contingent liabilities are moderate. We assess the amount of guarantees provided by
Iceland (implicitly and explicitly) to various nondeposit-taking institutions at slightly lessthan 30% of GDP. We believe there is a significant likelihood of extraordinary government
support.
The krona is largely floating following the removal of capital controls, albeit with a shorter
track record. The central bank has broad operational independence and uses market-based
monetary instruments. Given the removal of capital controls and accumulation of extra net
foreign exchange reserves, the central bank can act as lender of last resort for the financial
system. However, Iceland exhibits a very volatile real effective exchange rate over the
economic cycle.
As per Table 1 of "Sovereign Rating Methodology."
Iceland's economy and its currency area are narrower than rating peers', which makes thecountry inherently more susceptible to external shocks. This is not fully captured in theindicative rating.

Final rating
Foreign currency

A

Notches of uplift0

Local currency

A

Default risks do not apply differently to foreign- and local-currency debt.

S&P Global Ratings' analysis of sovereign creditworthiness rests on its assessment and scoring of five key rating factors: (i) institutional
assessment; (ii) economic assessment; (iii) external assessment; (iv) the average of fiscal flexibility and performance, and debt burden; and (v)monetary assessment. Each of the factors is assessed on a continuum spanning from 1 (strongest) to 6 (weakest). S&P Global Ratings'"Sovereign Rating Methodology," published on Dec. 18, 2017, details how we derive and combine the scores and then derive the sovereignforeign currency rating. In accordance with S&P Global Ratings' sovereign ratings methodology, a change in score does not in all cases lead to achange in the rating, nor is a change in the rating necessarily predicated on changes in one or more of the scores. In determining the final rating
the committee can make use of the flexibility afforded by §15 and §§126-128 of the rating methodology.

Related Criteria
•
•
•
•
•

General Criteria: Environmental, Social, And Governance Principles In Credit Ratings, Oct. 10, 2021
Criteria | Governments | Sovereigns: Sovereign Rating Methodology, Dec. 18, 2017
General Criteria: Methodology For Linking Long-Term And Short-Term Ratings, April 7, 2017
General Criteria: Principles Of Credit Ratings, Feb. 16, 2011
General Criteria: Methodology: Criteria For Determining Transfer And Convertibility Assessments, May 18, 2009

Related Research
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Sovereign Ratings List, Nov. 3, 2021
Sovereign Ratings History, Nov. 3, 2021
Sovereign Ratings Score Snapshot, Nov. 3, 2021
Sovereign Risk Indicators, Oct. 12, 2021; a free interactive version is available at http://www.spratings.com/sri
EMEA Emerging Markets Sovereign Rating Trends Midyear 2021, June 29, 2021
Economic Outlook EMEA Emerging Markets Q3 2021: Faster Recovery, Higher Inflation, June 25, 2021
Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment: Iceland, Dec. 18, 2020
Next Generation EU Will Shift European Growth Into A Higher Gear, April 27, 2021
Default, Transition, and Recovery: 2020 Annual Sovereign Default And Rating Transition Study, April 12, 2021

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IcelandRatings Detail
Ratings Detail (as of November 15, 2021)*
IcelandSovereign Credit Rating

A/Stable/A-1

Transfer & Convertibility Assessment

A

Senior Unsecured

A

Senior Unsecured

A-1

Short-Term Debt

A-1

Sovereign Credit Ratings History
17-Mar-17

Foreign Currency

A/Stable/A-1

13-Jan-17

A-/Stable/A-2

15-Jan-16

BBB+/Stable/A-2

17-Mar-17

Local Currency

A/Stable/A-1

13-Jan-17

A-/Stable/A-2

15-Jan-16

BBB+/Stable/A-2*Unless otherwise noted, all ratings in this report are global scale ratings. S&P Global Ratings credit ratings on the global scale arecomparable across countries. S&P Global Ratings credit ratings on a national scale are relative to obligors or obligations within thatspecific country. Issue and debt ratings could include debt guaranteed by another entity, and rated debt that an entity guarantees.

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Iceland

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