The Dominican Republic scored better than its peers

Santo Domingo, DR.
The Dominican Republic exhibits a recovery valued as a success story by the international community, highlighting the opinions of the most prestigious risk rating agencies, the most representative institutions of international banking, and various multilateral organizations.

An analysis by Pagina Abierta of the Central Bank (PACB) states; “In general terms, all these entities have favorably weighted the implementation of macroeconomic policies consistent with the objectives of achieving the recovery of productive activities, recovering jobs and protecting the most vulnerable segments of the population,” it states.

Measures
PACB indicates that since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a pandemic in March 2020, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) implemented an expansive monetary policy that included the reduction of the reference interest rate from 4.5% to 3.0% and the implementation of various liquidity mechanisms, aimed at creating the conditions for financial institutions to place and refinance low-cost loans to Dominican companies and households.

At the same time, the Government designed social programs to protect the most vulnerable groups of the population and relaxed the tax burden on businesses, particularly in the sectors most affected by the pandemic, preserving jobs and protecting people’s income.

In December of this year, two rating agencies, Standard and Poor’s and Fitch have released their assessments on the future performance of the Dominican economy, which have improved the outlook from negative to stable.

Throughout 2021, only one country achieved a favorable review from the two major rating agencies in all of Latin America. Yet, that was precisely the DR, an unmistakable sign of the nation’s positioning as one of the most critical economic leaders in the region.

Even in the case of economies such as Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and El Salvador, the outlook was defined by the rating agencies as unfavorable.