IMF Working Papers

Barbados’ 2018–19 Sovereign Debt Restructuring–A Sea Change?

By Myrvin Anthony, Gregorio Impavido, Bert van Selm

February 21, 2020

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Myrvin Anthony, Gregorio Impavido, and Bert van Selm. Barbados’ 2018–19 Sovereign Debt Restructuring–A Sea Change?, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2020) accessed November 23, 2024

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

This paper examines the causes, processes, and outcomes of Barbados’ 2018–19 sovereign debt restructuring—its first ever. The restructuring was comprehensive, featuring several rarely used approaches, including the restructuring of treasury bills, and the use of a retrofitted collective action mechanism. The debt restructuring has helped to set Barbados’ public debt on a clear downward trajectory. A sustained reform effort, maintaining high primary surpluses and ambitious structural reforms, will be needed to gradually reduce public debt from about 160 percent of GDP before the restructuring to the country’s 60 percent debt-to-GDP target.

Subject: Asset and liability management, Debt restructuring, Domestic debt, External debt, Financial institutions, Public debt, Treasury bills and bonds

Keywords: Barbados, Caribbean, CG debt, Debt, Debt exchange, Debt restructuring, Debt restructuring, Debt restructuring perimeter, Debt restructuring process, Debt sustainability, Debt sustainability consideration, Domestic debt, Exchange offer, Government debt, Long-term debt, NPV gain, Restructuring operation, Restructuring perimeter, Result, Short term, Short-term debt, SOE debt, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Debt Restructuring, Sovereign Defaults, Treasury bills and bonds, WP

Publication Details

  • Pages:

    29

  • Volume:

    ---

  • DOI:

    ---

  • Issue:

    ---

  • Series:

    Working Paper No. 2020/034

  • Stock No:

    WPIEA2020034

  • ISBN:

    9781513529967

  • ISSN:

    1018-5941

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