IMF Board Approves $242 Million Tranche for Honduras

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Washington DC: The International Monetary Fund's board approved two program reviews for Honduras on Monday, making $242 million immediately available to the Central American nation.

This immediate funding release is part of a larger three-year, $847 million economic program originally established back in September 2023.

IMF officials labeled the country's overall performance as favorable, though Honduras missed one specific criterion concerning domestic arrears to its public electricity utility.

Despite this minor setback, the IMF stated that the Honduran economy has shown strong resilience against elevated external uncertainty.

Kenji Okamura, deputy managing director at the IMF, commended the local authorities' strong commitment to the fund-supported program.

He emphasised that this ongoing economic resilience was driven by a mix of prudent fiscal policies, appropriate monetary strategies, and the recent acceleration of structural reforms.

Honduras holds a long financial relationship with the lender dating back to 1984, and faces $67 million in previous debts coming due this year.

Politically, the nation is part of a recent rightward swing seen across several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.