Shaw Inks US$200 Million Policy-Based Loan with IDB

The Honourable Audley Shaw, Minister of Finance and the Public Service and Mr. Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), signed a loan for US$200 million (JA$17.2 billion) today at the IDB Headquarters in Washington.
The loan, under the Government’s Fiscal Consolidation Programme, is to support the GOJ’s efforts to achieve fiscal policy goals over the short and medium term, and was secured at an interest rate of 1.51 percent.
Once disbursed, today’s loan represents a total of US$430 million (JA$37.0 billion) in funding from the IDB since Jamaica entered into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in February this year.
In commenting on the IDB Loan Programme over the two-year period of the IMF Agreement, Minister Shaw said, “The IDB is committed to a disbursement of over US$600 million (JA$51.7 billion) in policy-based loans to Jamaica in this Calendar year at interest rates of less than 1.5 percent per annum.”
“This represents the largest loan to a country as a percentage of its GDP in the IDB’s history. This represents an extraordinary level of confidence being shown by the IDB in the policies of the Government of Jamaica,” said Shaw.
Outside of the IMF, which provides balance of payment support, the IDB is Jamaica’s largest source of budgetary support, with funding accessed through policy-based loans and channeled directly into the Fiscal Consolidation Programme. Specific areas of interest include the strengthening of fiscal discipline and accountability, reduction of the public debt/GDP ratio, and stimulation of economic growth and development in the Jamaican economy.
Minister Shaw also underscored the Government’s strong commitment to sustained fiscal reform and good governance, and congratulated President Luis Alberto Moreno on his re-election to a second term as head of the IDB.
Also at the signing were Ambassador Audrey Marks, Ambassador of Jamaica to the United States, Mr. Gerard Johnson, IDB Representative to Jamaica, and Ambassador Richard Bernal, Executive Director of the IDB for the Caribbean.