Investment Grade Bond Rating for the Virgin Islands

The U.S. Virgin Islands, experiencing an unprecedented economic expansion and budget surplus, sought an investment grade bond rating for the territory from the key rating agencies: Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings.

The effort entailed the preparation of major financial reports on the state of the territory’s economy and the Government’s financial condition, as well as a series of meetings in New York and on-island with representatives of the key bond rating agencies.

Soury Communications led a public information effort both via the Internet and in more conventional media – on-island, regionally in the Caribbean basin, and nationally. The strategy included raising the profile of the territory’s finances among a variety of public audiences, ranging from the Wall Street Journal to the credit-rating agencies. Quarterly e-newsletters were distributed to the financial and investment community outlining the territory’s stable investment environment and the growth of key revenue-generating industries, such as tourism and rum production.

The U.S. Virgin Islands received its first ever investment grade bond rating from all three major rating agencies, including Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Ratings, and Standard and Poor’s.