IDB, CAF, and CDB Launch Caribbean Debt-for-Resilience Joint Initiative

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) launched today at COP30 the Caribbean Multi-Guarantor Debt-for-Resilience Joint Initiative, a landmark regional effort designed to boost disaster preparedness while easing debt pressures across the Caribbean.

By leveraging guarantees from MDBs and private sector actors, the initiative will create fiscal space for countries to invest in priority resilience measures and regional public goods, enabling action before disasters strike and without adding new debt.

The Joint Initiative will focus on three goals:

1. Scale up debt-for-resilience swaps to generate fiscal space for enhanced resilience.
2. Strengthen coordination among MDBs, governments, and private sector partners to scale and streamline interventions, particularly debt-for-resilience swaps in the region.
3. Improve transparency, monitoring, and evaluation standards to attract more investment.

The Joint Initiative intends to create a facility under a Framework Agreement designed to facilitate coordination among guarantors for debt-for-resilience swap transactions, while respecting each institution’s mandates, internal approvals, and formalization processes. Debt-for-Resilience transactions will be tailored to align with national development and sovereign debt management strategies, in accordance with each guarantor’s policies.

The institutions will work together to establish common principles for guarantee terms, define shared taxonomies and key performance indicators (KPIs) for resilience investments, aligned with global benchmarks. This initiative is expected to streamline multi-guarantor debt swaps, attracting new and non-traditional guarantors, enabling larger transactions, lowering costs, and accelerating execution, while enhancing access to investors through robust reporting and monitoring frameworks. Each debt swap transaction should include a regional public-goods component, reinforcing collective resilience across the Caribbean.

About CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean

We are a development bank committed to supporting the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and improving the quality of life in the region. Our actions promote sustainable development and regional integration. We serve the public and private sectors, providing multiple products and services to a broad client base of 24 member countries, private companies, and financial institutions. Learn more at caf.com

About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a member of the IDB Group, is devoted to improving lives across Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded in 1959, the Bank works with the region’s public sector to design and enable impactful, innovative solutions for sustainable and inclusive development. Leveraging financing, technical expertise, and knowledge, it promotes growth and well-being in 26 countries. Visit our website: www.iadb.org

About the Caribbean Development Bank

The Caribbean Development Bank is a regional financial institution established in 1970 to contribute to the harmonious economic growth and development of its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). In addition to the 19 BMCs, CDB’s membership includes four regional, non-borrowing members, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela, and five non-regional, non-borrowing members, Canada, China, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. CDB’s total assets in its Ordinary Capital Resources stood at US2.02 billion as at December 31, 2024, while it also manages US$1.40 billion of Special Funds Resources. The Bank is rated Aa1 Stable by Moody’s, AA+ Stable by Standard & Poor’s and AA+ Stable by Fitch Ratings. Learn more at caribank.org