Annual Report 2020
- The report links fiscal year 2019-2020 macroeconomic conditions to the COVID-19 shock, weak external demand and domestic constraints.
- Inflation reached 25.2 percent in September 2020, 5.5 percentage points above the end of fiscal year 2019.
- Exports fell by 36.20 percent because of lower international demand caused by the pandemic.
- The current account recorded a surplus of 781.13 million US dollars, supported by a narrower goods-and-services deficit and higher current transfers.
- The banking system was more than 50 percent dollarized at the start of the year and was affected by the gourde's 29.28 percent appreciation against the US dollar.
- Administrative penalties for regulatory noncompliance rose sharply, from 142.87 million gourdes to 891.76 million gourdes.
This annual report from the Banque de la République d'Haïti covers fiscal year 2019-2020, ending 30 September 2020. It reviews the international and domestic economic environment during the year of the COVID-19 shock, including real-sector activity, prices, employment and wages, monetary policy, public finances, balance of payments, external public debt and exchange-rate movements. It then presents the banking system, banking supervision, credit distribution by sector, liquidity, profitability, administrative sanctions, credit unions, payment systems, BRH governance and financial statements.
The report records a difficult macroeconomic setting: exports fell with the pandemic, inflation rose to 25.2 percent in September 2020, agriculture was affected by water deficits, and the exchange rate moved through several phases. It also documents monetary-policy instruments, including BRH bonds, reserve requirements, exchange-market interventions and regulatory measures. The banking-system section shows a dollarized system affected by the gourde's appreciation, concentrated assets and deposits, declining nominal BRH bond rates, and higher administrative penalties. The report is a central source for Haiti's monetary, fiscal, external and banking conditions during the first pandemic fiscal year.
How to cite
Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH), Annual Report 2020, https://www.brh.ht/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-Annuel-2020.pdf