Guernsey rating affirmed at AA-plus, then withdrawn-S&P

NEW YORK, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's on Wednesday affirmed its rating of offshore tax and banking haven Guernsey at AA-plus, but then withdrew the rating at the request of the government.

S&P did not say why Guernsey requested the rating be withdrawn.

In a brief statement, S&P said Guernsey has "high levels of prosperity" and a robust financial position, given there is no government debt and assets are slightly more than 100 percent of gross domestic product.

But S&P added that "the ratings were constrained by the risks associated with being a small, open economy, the limited visibility on Guernsey's external finances and its lack of monetary flexibility."

Neither Moody's Investors Service nor Fitch Ratings have a credit rating on the Guernsey, located in the English Channel.

Guernsey, as well as the Isle of Man and Jersey, are UK "Crown Dependency" jurisdictions. But their financial sectors are not regulated by the UK, allowing them to become bastions of financial secrecy.

(Reporting by Daniel Bases and Luciana Lopez; Editing by Dan Grebler)