International credit rating agency, Standard and Poor' (S&P), has once again rated the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) as a 'AA/A-1+' institution, and affirmed the Bank' outlook as 'Stable'. Following its review of CDB' 2015 results, S&P released its analysis on May 4, 2016, noting that the factors that contributed to the Bank' 'Stable' rating include: CDB' extremely strong capital adequacy with continuing improvements expected The Bank' 'strong business profile', and 'extremely strong financial profile' Strong stakeholder relationships Actions taken by CDB to strengthen governance and risk management S&P states that 'CDB was established in 1969 and is one of the most prominent lenders in the Caribbean, maintaining a very strong public policy role and the ability to lend to sovereigns throughout the credit cycle, with 96% of its loans issued to the public sector as of December 2015. This role was reaffirmed in its 2015-2019 strategic plan in which the bank' board of directors endorsed the goal of reducing inequality and halving the incidence of extreme poverty within its borrowing member countries by 2025." As further evidence of the importance of CDB' role in the region, the agency noted that the Bank provides technical assistance to regional Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) which require additional policy support. Also contributing to the 'Stable' rating were the Bank' efforts to improve governance and risk management in the form of a Strategic Framework for Integrity, Compliance and Accountability, which became operational in 2015; as well as the addition of Brazil as the Bank' newest regional non-borrowing member country. S&P further noted that significant support from non-regional members, including the funding of CDB' Special Funds Resources (not rated), which provide grants and concessional loans to the bank' lower-income borrowing member countries, helped to sustain the credit quality of the rated Ordinary Capital Resources. The review concludes that “CDB will maintain an extremely strong financial profile with a high level of capitalization that would not decline significantly, even if the creditworthiness of the sovereigns where CDB has the largest concentration were to deteriorate."