IMF and Haiti Conclude Virtual Mission on the Second Review Staff-Monitored Program

October 10, 2025

A Staff Monitored Program (SMP) is an informal agreement between an IMF member country and IMF staff to monitor the member country's economic program. As such, SMPs do not entail endorsement by the IMF Executive Board. SMP Staff reports are issued to the Board for information.

• International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff and the Haitian authorities have concluded the virtual mission under the Second Review of the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP), pending approval by IMF Management.
• Program implementation has been encouraging amid the challenging environment. All quantitative and indicative targets have been met at the end-June test date. Monetary financing of the fiscal deficit remains at zero and international reserves continue to accumulate, supported by strong remittance inflows. The reform agenda continues to advance despite delays in some areas, and the authorities continue to demonstrate strong ownership and engagement, including through the high-level SMP Monitoring Committee.

Washington, DC: A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Mr. Camilo E. Tovar, conducted a virtual mission from September 30 to October 8, 2025, to assess progress under Haiti's Staff-Monitored Program (SMP). SMPs are informal agreements between country authorities and the IMF to monitor the implementation of the authorities' economic program and build a track record of policy implementation that could pave the way for financial assistance from the IMF's upper credit tranche (UCT). Haiti's SMP is tailored to Haiti's context of acute security challenges, institutional fragility, and capacity constraints. It supports the authorities' economic policy priorities, including stabilizing the economy, strengthening governance, and reinforcing the social safety net. Engagement with the authorities will continue over the coming weeks.

At the conclusion of the mission, Mr. Tovar issued the following statement:

"Economic conditions in Haiti remain fragile amid persistent domestic and external shocks and rising uncertainty. The economy has contracted for a seventh consecutive year. Inflation remains high at around 32 percent year-on-year. The banking sector continues to show vulnerabilities, with the nonperforming loan ratio above 13 percent in June 2025, although the system's capital adequacy ratio (22 percent) exceeds the regulatory minimum of 12 percent.

"Remittance inflows have continued to increase. This reflects increased financial support from migrants to their families due to worsening security conditions, and possibly in anticipation of changes in international migration policies. These inflows have strengthened the current account balance, which is projected to record a moderate surplus in FY2025. Gross international reserves remain adequate-over US$3.1 billion, or about 7 months of prospectives imports, as of end-July 2025. The nominal exchange rate remains stable, leading to real exchange rate appreciation.

"Fiscal policy continues to be constrained by security challenges, institutional weaknesses, and limited policy space. The fiscal position was broadly balanced in FY2025, reflecting improved nominal revenue collection and low spending execution due to persistent security conditions and institutional fragilities. Social spending rose by about 34 percent, supported by the 2023 IMF's Food Shock Window under the IMF's Rapid Credit Facility. Public debt is projected at 12.4 percent of GDP by end FY2025-the lowest in the Latin America and Caribbean Region.

"Risks to the outlook remain tilted to the downside. Intensified gang-related disruptions, and escalating violence or social unrest could further exacerbate social and economic vulnerabilities. In addition, potential shifts in foreign immigration and trade policies could sharply reduce exports and remittance inflows. These developments could compound the adverse impact of the security crisis on domestic production, worsen the humanitarian and economic crisis, and increase fiscal pressures. On the upside, the United Nations Security Council's authorization to transition the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti for a new multinational Gang Suppression Force-supported by the newly established United Nations Support Office for Haiti and the Organization of American States-could mark a turning point in efforts to restore security in the country, rebuild institutions, and lay the foundations for economic growth and improved prospects for the Haitian people.

"Program implementation is encouraging. All quantitative and indicative targets for the end-June test date have been met. Monetary financing of the fiscal deficit has been maintained at zero, social spending reached the program's targets, and revenue performance stayed on track. International reserves continue to accumulate, supported by strong remittances. Net international reserves reached US$ 1.5 billion by end July 2025, supported by strong remittance inflows and foreign exchange purchases. The reform agenda-covering governance, public financial management, safeguards, and data provision-continues to advance albeit with delays in some areas.

The SMP will continue to emphasize the following priorities:

"Advancing governance reforms to overcome fragility. Reform efforts should be coordinated and anchored in the Governance Diagnostic Report, including (i) enhancing transparency and accountability in public financial management; (ii) mitigating corruption risks in revenue administration; and (iii) ensuring accountability for serious corruption, organized crime, and money laundering. The authorities are encouraged to complete the national assessment for money laundering and terrorist financing, and to continue addressing other gaps in the anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework to support Haiti's exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

"Mobilizing revenue and improving budget execution. Immediate priorities for boosting revenue mobilization include operationalizing automated monthly data exchanges between the tax and customs systems and completing the rollout of tax declarations and payments services for all large taxpayers across all commercial banks. Strengthening budget execution-especially for social and security spending-is essential to adequately support vulnerable populations and advance critical infrastructure and development needs. This requires improved treasury cash management and adequate project appraisal and budget prioritization, in line with the 2022 IMF Public Investment Management Assessment.

"Strengthening the central bank's policy frameworks. Monetary policy credibility has improved with the elimination of monetary financing of the budget deficit. For the second consecutive year, monetary financing has been held at zero, helping contain inflation and reinforcing credibility of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH). Moreover, the relative stability of the nominal exchange rate is providing the economy with a nominal anchor. Given the challenging and uncertain environment, foreign exchange interventions should remain focused on preserving exchange rate stability and supporting the accumulation of international reserves.

"Advancing the financial system's regulatory and supervisory reforms. The authorities are encouraged to continue the annual on-site inspection program; enhance off-site supervision; integrate the risk assessment grid framework into the BRH's supervisory architecture; and finalize the new chart of accounts for financial institutions.

"Enhancing the quality and timeliness of data provision. Timely publication of the BRH audited financial statements is essential, including the completion of the FY2023 audit and initiating the FY2024 audit. Equally essential is the implementation of the recommendations of the 2024 safeguards assessment report. The authorities are encouraged to advance work on data reporting through the International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity template and to strengthen the external sector statistics, in line with the recommendations of IMF technical assistance. Moreover, it is recommended to improve the government finance statistics, and to align the reporting of financial soundness indicators with international standards.

"Despite the authorities' continued efforts, Haiti requires international financial support to meet its urgent and large development needs. To safeguard debt sustainability and consolidate progress achieved under the SMP, this support should be provided in the form of grants rather than non-concessional loans. Grant financing would help address the country's immediate humanitarian, social, and economic needs, and place the economy on a steady and sustainable medium- and long-term growth path, which is essential for improving living conditions for the Haitian people.

In line with the Fund Strategy for Fragile and Conflict-Affected States, IMF staff will continue to collaborate closely with Haiti's main development partners, particularly on governance and capacity development.

The IMF staff team met with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Alfred Métellus, the Governor of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti, Mr. Ronald Gabriel, and other senior government officials.

The mission expresses gratitude to the Haitian authorities for their strong cooperation and the open, constructive discussions throughout the engagement.