Following its 2026 Article IV mission to Barbados, the International Monetary Fund said its staff and the Barbadian authorities reached a staff-level agreement on a 36-month precautionary Stand-By Arrangement of SDR 189 million, about USD 260 million. The arrangement would provide insurance against external shocks while underpinning macroeconomic stability and reforms under the authorities’ Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan 2026, which focuses on productivity and competitiveness, fiscal sustainability, deeper financial markets, human capital and climate resilience. The mission described Barbados’ recent performance as strong, with 2025 growth estimated at 2.7 percent, inflation averaging 0.9 percent, a current account deficit of 5.7 percent of GDP, gross international reserves of about USD 1.5 billion at end-2025, equivalent to around six months of imports, and a fiscal primary surplus of 4.2 percent of GDP in FY2025/26. Under the new precautionary arrangement, fiscal policy is intended to keep public debt on track to reach 60 percent of GDP by FY2035/36 while preserving space for investment, resilience and social spending, alongside structural reforms in public financial management, public-private partnerships and state-owned enterprise oversight, revenue policy and administration, competitiveness, climate resilience, financial supervision and the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism framework.
International Monetary Fund 2026-05-14
International Monetary Fund reaches staff-level agreement with Barbados on SDR 189 million precautionary Stand-By Arrangement for BERT 2026
The International Monetary Fund reached a staff-level agreement with Barbados on a 36‑month precautionary Stand‑By Arrangement of SDR 189 million (about USD 260 million) to provide insurance against external shocks and support the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan 2026. The mission cited strong recent performance, with estimated 2025 growth of 2.7 percent, inflation of 0.9 percent, a current account deficit of 5.7 percent of GDP, gross international reserves of about USD 1.5 billion (around six months of imports), and a fiscal primary surplus of 4.2 percent of GDP in FY2025/26. The arrangement aims to keep public debt on track to reach 60 percent of GDP by FY2035/36 while supporting investment, resilience, social spending and structural reforms.