SANTO DOMINGO. - The governor of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD), Héctor Valdez Albizu, projected that the Dominican economy would gradually return to a growth rate close to its potential by 2026, laying the groundwork for an expansion between 4.0% and 5.0%, in an environment where inflation would continue within the target range of 4.0% ± 1.0%.
Valdez Albizu pointed out that, despite the uncertain outlook, the Dominican Republic's strong macroeconomic fundamentals have contributed to recent improvements in debt ratings and country risk indicators, which are at their lowest historical levels.
He added that this favorable business climate, supported by political and social stability, continues to attract significant flows of foreign direct investment, which will exceed US$4.8 billion and will comfortably cover the projected current account deficit of 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).
Valdez Albizu participated as a panelist in the CXIX Meeting of Governors of the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies (CEMLA) in the session “Economic and financial perspectives for the Americas, with special emphasis on inflation”, where he focused his presentation on the response of the central banks of Central America and the Dominican Republic to international uncertainty.
In this context, he indicated that small, open economies that are dependent on the United States have faced significant challenges stemming from that country's trade and immigration policies and the economic slowdown it has experienced this year.
In this way Valdez Albizu concluded his participation in the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), which took place from October 13 to 18, in Washington DC, United States of America.
Within the framework of these meetings, the governor of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) attended the meeting of the Constituent Assembly, headed by André Roncaglia, executive director of the IMF for Brazil and president of the country chair to which the Dominican Republic belongs before the organization, in which the presidents and governors of the member central banks intervened, presenting the results and expectations of each country for the end of 2025, a year that has been characterized by a turbulent international panorama.
The Governor of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) held a bilateral meeting with Roncaglia, along with the Minister of Finance and Economy (MHE), Magín Díaz, in which they analyzed the performance of the Dominican economy, the report on the recent Article IV visit, and discussed the implementation of the Government's fiscal policy for the remainder of the year, along with the increased public investment spending planned in the supplementary budget.
Additionally, Valdez Albizu, along with Minister Díaz, delivered a presentation at the Central America, Panama, and Dominican Republic Meeting (CAPDR), highlighting that, to mitigate the impact of the challenging international context, the country is implementing a coordinated program of monetary and fiscal policy to stimulate domestic demand. He also noted that, in an environment of low inflationary pressures, the Central Bank recently reduced its monetary policy rate and implemented a liquidity provision program to channel financing to productive sectors. For his part, Minister Díaz emphasized the Government's commitment to stability and compliance with the fiscal rule.
In addition, she held an important meeting at the U.S. Treasury Department, where she met with officials from the Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) Program: Nicki Post, Audrey Linthorst, and Rena Toft. During this meeting, Valdez Albizu highlighted the support provided by the OTA in recent years for the implementation of policies aimed at achieving greater financial inclusion in the Dominican Republic. She mentioned that, as a positive result of the country's efforts to promote financial inclusion, the percentage of adults with a bank account in the Dominican Republic increased from 51% in 2021 to 65% in 2024, according to the World Bank's 2024 Global Survey on Financial Inclusion.
As part of these activities, Governor Valdez held bilateral meetings with Alexandre Tombini, Chief Representative of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for the Americas; Alberto Torres, Director of the Public Sector Group for Latin America at Citibank; and Rahul Garg of the prestigious investment firm PIMCO. These meetings addressed the importance of maintaining macroeconomic stability and the role of monetary policy in keeping inflation under control, within the Central Bank's target range, while also fostering sustainable economic growth. The importance of close coordination between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance and Economy in the Dominican Republic was emphasized.
In addition, members of the Central Bank delegation participated in the meeting of the “Network of Central Banks and Finance Ministries of Latin America and the Caribbean” of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as well as in a series of meetings with investors and investment banks interested in the Dominican economy, organized by Bank of America, Stone X Securities, Jefferies and UBS.
Governor Valdez Albizu was accompanied by Joel Tejeda Comprés, Deputy Manager of Monetary, Exchange and Financial Policies, Julio Andújar Scheker, Economic Advisor, Joel González Pantaleón, Deputy Manager of Monetary Programming and Economic Studies, and Frank Fuentes, representative of the Dominican Republic to the IMF.
