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

Anthony Myrvin, Gregorio Impavido () and Bert van Selm

No 2020/034, IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: WP; debt; short-term debt; Barbados; long-term debt; result; debt restructuring; government debt; restructuring operation; debt sustainability; short term; Debt restructuring; Domestic debt; Treasury bills and bonds; Caribbean; Sovereign Debt; Sovereign Defaults; Sovereign Debt Restructuring; SOE debt; exchange offer; debt exchange; debt sustainability consideration; debt restructuring perimeter; CG debt; NPV gain; restructuring perimeter; debt restructuring process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29
Date: 2020-02-21
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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