After a stronger-than-expected recovery from the pandemic and continued resilience in early 2023, economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is softening as the effect of tighter policies to combat inflation is taking hold and the external environment is weakening. The early and...

The purpose of the study is to examine Peru’s effective interest spread through accounting decompositions, financial ratio analysis, and spread regressions. The government’s financial restructuring programs accelerated the banking sector consolidation process. Robustness of Peru’s credit...

The IMF staff report on Mexico’s financial policies has been satisfactory; these policies have been said to act as a buffer against risks that erupted during the global economic crisis. Mexico has been identified as a prudent and fairly well-managed economy. However, the issues that would pose...

This Selected Issues paper assesses empirically the motives and effectiveness of foreign exchange (FX) interventions in Peru. The results of the study indicate asymmetries both in the Central Reserve Bank of Peru's reaction function and in the effectiveness of FX interventions. Probit estimates...

KEY ISSUES Context. Growth remains robust while inflation has fallen to very low levels. However, declining commodity export prices and a substantial fiscal slippage have weakened the external position. The authorities have already tightened fiscal policy, but more will be needed to buttress...

KEY ISSUES Context: Over the past year, Mexico has maintained macroeconomic stability and has made significant progress in advancing growth-oriented structural reforms. The country’s close ties with the global economy, while a source of strength, heighten the economy’s exposure to external...