Cleviston Haynes: Debt exchange - risks and opportunities: leveraging the Jamaican experience

Remarks by Mr Cleviston Haynes, Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, at the workshop "Debt Exchange - Risks and Opportunities: Leveraging the Jamaican Experience", Bridgetown, 15 November 2018.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

On behalf of the Management and staff of the Central Bank, I welcome everyone to this workshop, which is geared towards sharing insights on the functioning of the money and capital markets in the aftermath of the restructuring of Barbados' domestic debt. I take this opportunity to thank NCB Capital Markets Barbados Limited for its willingness to share with us their experience and knowledge gained from the Jamaica Debt restructuring exercise in 2013.

On June 1, 2018, the newly-elected administration announced the unprecedented decision that Barbados had decided to suspend the servicing of commercial foreign debt payments and restructure both domestic and external debt. The purpose was to limit foreign reserves outflows, while securing meaningful and gradual debt reduction, thereby reducing financing needs and restoring debt sustainability.