S&P downgrades Province of Barcelona to ‘BBB-‘; outlook negative

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services cut its rating on the Spanish Province of Barcelona by one notch to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BBB+’ on Tuesday (October 16), while the outlook remains negative.

“We cap the rating on the province of Barcelona (Barcelona) at the level of the long-term sovereign rating because, under our criteria, the province does not meet the conditions to be rated higher than the sovereign”, S&P says in a statement. “The negative outlook on the Province of Barcelona reflects the outlook on Spain, given the close financial links between the province and the central government”.