- Staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Ecuadorian authorities have reached staff-level agreement on a set of comprehensive policies and reforms needed to complete the Sixth Review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. A staff-level agreement was also reached on an 18-month Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement with access of SDR 523.275 million (about US$710 million). The RSF will focus on macro-critical resilience-enhancing reforms.
- Program performance under the EFF has been strong. All quantitative performance criteria (QPCs) for the Sixth Review were met, many by large margins. The authorities have strengthened revenue collection and improved spending efficiency, while creating more room for priority social and investment spending.
- The authorities are advancing their structural reform agenda to build resilience, enhance economic growth, and create favorable conditions for investment and employment.
Washington, DC : An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Anastasia Guscina held discussions with the Ecuadorian authorities in Washington DC and remotely over the period September 22–October 26, 2026, on the Sixth Review of the country’s 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement.
Upon the conclusion of the discussions, Ms. Guscina issued the following statement:
“We are pleased to announce that IMF staff have reached a staff-level agreement with the Ecuadorian authorities on the Sixth Review under the EFF arrangement and on the request for an 18-month RSF arrangement. The staff-level agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board. Upon approval, Ecuador would have immediate access to about SDR 280.5 million (about US$380 million) under the EFF program. The first tranche under the RSF would become available upon completion of its first review, subject to the implementation of the agreed reform measures.
“Supported by the EFF, the authorities have made notable progress in achieving macroeconomic stability, rebuilding buffers, and enhancing resilience. Following a strong economic recovery in 2025, real GDP growth remained robust at 2.1 percent in the first half of 2026 and is projected at 2.7 percent in 2026, supported by consumption, investment, and non-oil exports. Headline inflation has declined to 1.3 percent in September and is expected to stay contained, partly reflecting the fading of electricity-related base effects and easing fuel-price pressures. The current account balance is projected to remain in a sizable surplus of 4.6 percent of GDP in 2026, supported by a sustained non-oil trade surplus, boosting international reserve buffers to historic highs. Credit continues to grow at a robust pace, driven by productive lending. The authorities have achieved important social gains, including wider coverage of cash transfers to vulnerable households and higher female labor force participation, while the poverty rate has fallen to its lowest level since 2007. A possibly stronger impact from El Niño and more challenging external conditions are key downside risks, but they are mitigated by existing buffers and contingency plans, and the authorities’ strong policy implementation and reform commitment.
“Quantitative program performance has been strong. All QPCs for the Sixth Review were met, several by wide margins. All Indicative Targets (ITs) were met except for the IT on central government arrears to the domestic private sector, which was missed by a small margin due to the identification and reclassification of arrears during the public sector restructuring process. The authorities have strengthened revenue collection and improved spending efficiency, while creating more room for priority social and investment spending. Maintaining strong fiscal policies and enhancing public financial management will help safeguard fiscal sustainability while preserving space for priority social and public investment spending.
“Ecuador returned to international capital markets in January 2026 (a key objective of the EFF-supported program) for the first time since 2019, with a successful sovereign bond issuance of US$4 billion, alongside a debt buy-back operation of US$3 billion, building government liquidity buffers, improving the debt profile, and lowering financing needs. In May, Ecuador placed a second successful issuance of US$1 billion. All three major rating agencies upgraded their sovereign ratings since program approval. The authorities’ EFF-supported program has also catalyzed additional financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners.
“Structural reforms are advancing to build resilience, enhance economic growth, and create favorable conditions for investment and employment. Progress on structural benchmarks (SBs) continues, including related to issuing regulations to strengthen the governance of cooperatives and intensify supervision of weaker entities, and to continuing to operationalize risk-based supervision. The authorities have also taken steps to enhance governance and transparency in the oil sector; increase trade integration to enhance export diversification and growth prospects; and update their AML/CFT framework to manage risks from illicit financial flows.
“The proposed Resilience and Stability Facility (RSF) arrangement with access of SDR 523.275 million (about US$710 million, equivalent to 75 percent of quota) will focus on three pillars related to macro-critical resilience-enhancing reforms: (i) building resilience and reducing external risks in the energy sector; (ii) reducing social and economic vulnerabilities to natural disasters; and (iii) strengthening climate governance and sustainable finance.
“The authorities’ policy actions and reforms are enhancing macroeconomic and financial stability, safeguarding dollarization, strengthening fiscal sustainability, and protecting vulnerable groups. The authorities’ program is expected to support stronger and more inclusive job-rich growth.
“The IMF staff wishes to thank the Ecuadoran authorities and other stakeholders for the constructive discussions and support during this review process.”
read more: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/11/08/26256-ecuador-sla-6th-review
