LatinNews Daily - 04 September 2026

*The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it has reached a staff-level agreement on the combined second and third reviews of the 40-month arrangement under El Salvador’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which was agreed in December 2024 for a total of U$1.4bn. Subject to approval by the IMF executive board, the latest agreement would release around US$140m for El Salvador. The 2024 agreement was reached following concessions made by El Salvador’s government led by authoritarian President Nayib Bukele regarding the cryptocurrency bitcoin which became legal tender in El Salvador in 2021, sparking IMF concern. In a statement released yesterday, the IMF highlights that “the ownership and operational control of the government’s e-wallet have been transferred to a private operator, and no public resources have been used for Bitcoin accumulation”. The IMF also states that “El Salvador’s economy continues to perform strongly”, with GDP growth “exceed[ing] expectations in 2025”, when it reached 3.7% on IMF data. The Fund expects El Salvador’s GDP to expand 4.5% in 2026, “supported by strong investment and private consumption, along with robust remittance, tourism, and capital inflows”. It adds that “these dynamics have been underpinned by further improvements in security and increased investor confidence, resulting from the implementation of prudent macroeconomic policies aimed at strengthening fiscal and external buffers.”

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