Ecuador Continues IMF Program to Boost Resilience Fund

President Daniel Noboa has affirmed that Ecuador is continuing its financial program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He clarified that this is not a new loan but an extension and expansion of an existing scheme, originally initiated under the Lenín Moreno administration and continued by Guillermo Lasso's government.

The primary objective of this ongoing financial arrangement is to strengthen a resilience fund. This fund is designated to help Ecuador respond effectively to potential climate-related emergencies and to ensure the consistent delivery of social and housing programs. Noboa indicated that additional financial support will be sourced from the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.

This multi-pronged financial strategy is designed to maintain the state's fiscal capacity to manage contingencies arising from climate phenomena, such as El Niño. It also aims to preserve crucial public investment programs and facilitate access to mortgage credit for citizens.

Noboa specifically highlighted the resilience fund's role in ensuring that even severe climate events do not disrupt essential public policies. This includes maintaining programs like the mortgage interest rate subsidy and CrediCasa, offered by the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute's Bank (Biess). Currently, CrediCasa provides a historically low mortgage rate of 2.99% with terms up to 30 years in Ecuador.

Economist Jeaneth Torres explained that the current agreement is an extension of the Extended Fund Facility approved in May 2024 and expanded in 2025, not a new negotiation. While it provides access to financing with favorable terms compared to international markets, she noted that new disbursements or expansions mean the public debt will indeed grow, even if the instrument used to obtain the funds changes.