MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Remittances to Latin America and Caribbean beat the 2008 pre-crisis record

“Remittances remain an important source of income for millions of families in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said IMF Fernando Jimenez-Ontiveros

Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean set a new record high in 2014 with 65bn dollars basically supported by the recovery of the economy and labor market in the United States, according to the latest release from the Inter American Development Bank.

 The increase reflects significant growth in remittance flows to Mexico (8%), Central America (7.4%) and the Caribbean (6.3%), linked to the US. However, there was a 1% decrease to South America, partly due to the economic situation in Spain, which constitutes a major source of remittance flows to that sub-region.

Since the 2008-2009 international financial crisis, and up until 2013, the total amount of remittances sent by migrants to their countries of origin had failed to match the levels of 2008, when they reached a record high of almost 65 bn.

“Remittances remain an important source of income for millions of families in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Fernando Jimenez-Ontiveros, Acting General Manager of the MIF. “The remittance sector has evolved by adopting new technologies and options for sending and receiving, and has seen a decline in fees. However, it is essential to continue working so that those who receive them have opportunities for savings and investment.”

Mexico, which receives more than a third of all remittances sent to the region, continues to be the largest recipient, with 23.6 billion, followed by Guatemala with 5.5 billion, the Dominican Republic with 4.5 billion, El Salvador with 4.2 billion, and Colombia with 4 billion.

According to the MIF-IDB report, the recovery of remittances is projected to continue or even accelerate in 2015, given growth forecasts for the United States, Spain, and Latin America.