# Debt Exchange and IMF Stand-By (2010)

URL: https://allhistories.com/jamaica/timeline/2010-debt-exchange-and-imf-stand-by
Location: Kingston, Jamaica
Themes: main-event

By 2009 Jamaica's public debt exceeded 130 per cent of GDP, and interest payments absorbed close to half of government revenue. The global financial crisis had hit bauxite exports, tourism and remittances, and the Golding government, which had long resisted returning to the IMF, faced a funding crisis. Finance minister Audley Shaw led the negotiations with the Fund and with local bondholders, mainly banks, pension funds and insurance companies. In January–February 2010 the government carried out the Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX), swapping domestic bonds for new instruments with lower interest rates and longer maturities; nearly all holders participated. On 4 February 2010 the IMF approved a 27-month stand-by arrangement of about US$1.27 billion, supported by further loans from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, conditional on fiscal consolidation and public-sector reform. The programme went off track in 2011 as wage and fiscal targets were missed, and debt remained stubbornly high. A second domestic exchange followed in 2013 under the PNP government, together with a stricter IMF Extended Fund Facility that finally began to reduce the debt burden. At this point in the timeline (February 2010), the Queen of the United Kingdom; Queen of Jamaica (from 6 August 1962) was Elizabeth II (6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022); the Governor-General of Jamaica was Sir Patrick Allen (26 February 2009 – present). Government: the Prime Minister of Jamaica was Bruce Golding (11 September 2007 – 23 October 2011).

## Why it matters
The 2010 debt exchange and IMF deal marked Jamaica's first serious attempt in a generation to confront its debt crisis.

Ruler at the Time: [Elizabeth II](https://allhistories.com/jamaica/rulers/elizabeth-ii)

Governor-General of Jamaica: Sir Patrick Allen
Prime Minister of Jamaica: Bruce Golding (Jamaica Labour Party)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Jamaica and the International Monetary Fund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica_and_the_International_Monetary_Fund)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Jamaica economy](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Jamaica+economy)
- [IMF — Jamaica](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/JAM)
- [Wikipedia — Modern Jamaica (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica)