The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has been designated a prescribed holder of Special Drawings Rights (SDRs), by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). SDRs are an international reserve asset created by the IMF to help meet the long-term global need to supplement reserves. 

Prescribed holders can use SDRs for loans, swaps, pledges, in exchange for currency, or for settlement of financial obligations, among other purposes. The designation affords CDB an additional avenue to pursue funding for sustainable development solutions for the Caribbean. This is in-keeping the Bank’s objective of increasing access to adequate and affordable finance for its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs).

President of the CDB, Dr Hyginus “Gene” Leon said, “Recognising the extensive resources required for financing development in the Caribbean, CDB has sought to significantly expand the sources of funding available for our BMCs, and through this designation from the IMF, we now have additional options for building out a financial ecosystem to meet the varied needs across the Region.”

He added, “The CDB is also advocating for developed countries to re-allocate a percentage of their excess SDR holdings to finance development in regions like the Caribbean where countries are facing an uphill task trying to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and securing financing climate action. As the region’s Multi-Lateral Development Bank, we are uniquely positioned to marshal finance for these, and other objectives and we look forward to progress on these matters in near future.”