The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the government of Jamaica to take further actions to improve the stability of the financial sector.

In the concluding statement for the country’s 11th and 12th quarter reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme this morning, the group from the IMF indicated that the program remains on track with all quantitative performance criteria for end-December 2015 and end-March 2016 having been met.

However, the IMF says achieving sustained higher growth and job creation requires continued reforms.

The IMF says to this end, further action needs to be taken by reforming the monetary framework to focus on price stability and taking further actions to stabilize the financial sector.

“A firmly established single mandate for achieving price stability will bolster the Bank of Jamaica’s credibility and lay the foundation for an eventual move to inflation targeting. In addition, the central bank’s liquidity provision should be made consistent with the loosened interest rate stance,” the IMF says.

It continued, “Enhancements to the legal and operational frameworks for the resolution of banks and securities dealers should be determined and set up without delay. The amended Bank of Jamaica Act needs to be backed by concrete tools, procedures, and complementary regulations in order to truly vest the central bank with overall responsibility for financial stability. Information exchange and collaboration between the various supervisory agencies needs further improvement. Strengthening prudential requirements for securities dealers will bolster systemic stability”.