The government staunchly defended its borrowing policy in the Senate on Wednesday, insisting that recent and prospective foreign loans are part of a carefully calculated programme to bolster the economy and upgrade infrastructure—not evidence of reckless fiscal management.
This, as the upper chamber debated a resolution under the Special Loans Act to allow the country to access US$92.7 million ($185.4m) from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to finance an ambitious Urban Renewal Project and upgrades to the island’s polyclinic infrastructure.
Minister of Energy and Business Senator Lisa Cummins used the occasion to underscore what she described as the government’s prudent and diversified financing strategy, noting that recent moves on the international and domestic markets were aimed at strengthening economic resilience.
“Our international borrowing is strategic; it is not excessive—and I want to say why,” she told lawmakers. “A few weeks ago, we navigated a fiscal Bill for the issuance of US$500 million, which was carefully timed in June 2025 to allow Barbados to return to the international capital markets for the first time since our successful 2018 debt restructuring.”
Senator Cummins’ comments come as the government continues to face opposition to its borrowing strategy.
Referencing the country’s last visit to the capital markets in the mid-2000s, Senator Cummins explained that this recent issuance was not merely about raising funds, but about smart debt management.
“This issuance, we have said here in this chamber, replaced what would have been an instrument on the Eurobond that would have matured in 2029. We undertook to begin to repay, prepay that loan, and we smoothed our debt profile and we created over 300 million in fiscal space through the year 2030,” she explained. “In addition, unlike the previous instrument, this one also carried the contingent clauses that I just spoke about, allowing for deferrals in the event of natural disasters or pandemics. This is a resilience measure.”
The senator also addressed domestic market efforts, rejecting claims that the government was ignoring local financing options.
“To say that there is no domestic finance raising is a misrepresentation,” she stated. “Over $200 million in new BOSS (Barbados Optional Savings Scheme) and BOSS Plus bonds have been issued, with an additional US$100 million [$200m] in domestic bonds launched in 2025.”
Senator Cummins added that as of the end of June, the BOSS Plus bonds had already brought in around $27.7 million, primarily from domestic institutional investors and Barbadian households.
“This is a testimony to the robust confidence and participation in the domestic market,” she said.
She emphasised that the government’s fiscal managers were focused on designing a borrowing profile that reduces refinancing risks and extends maturity timelines, all while maintaining the confidence of international partners.
“The reality is that despite all the noise about Barbados’ debt, our debt-to-GDP ratio has fallen to approximately 102 per cent, down from when the previous administration left office. And our interest-to-revenue ratio has declined to 12.7 per cent—both of which have been recognised by international partners as indicators of a healthy debt profile.” (SB)
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