September 18, 2026
CIBC Caribbean has arranged or invested approximately US$820 million in sustainable finance initiatives and financed more than 213 megawatts of clean energy assets across the Caribbean and Central America, as the bank continues to channel financing into projects aimed at transforming regional economies and strengthening resilience.
These figures were recently highlighted by CIBC Caribbean Chief Country and Commercial Officer, Donna Wellington, during the 10th Caribbean Infrastructure Forum (CARIF) in Miami, where regional leaders, financiers, investors, and development partners are examining how the Caribbean can mobilize the capital needed to deliver critical infrastructure.
Wellington said the bank’s sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy financing reflects a broader understanding of what infrastructure investment can deliver for Caribbean economies.
Among the landmark initiatives supported by CIBC Caribbean are large-scale renewable energy projects in Curaçao, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, as well as projects on other islands aimed at reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels while expanding access to cleaner and more affordable energy.
The bank’s financing of wind and solar projects across the region has contributed to lower carbon emissions, improved energy security, grid resilience, job creation, and foreign exchange savings. The investment comes as energy security assumes increasing importance for Caribbean economies.
“We focus on renewable energy because energy security is national security. This is why investments in renewable energy, battery storage, resilient electricity grids, energy efficiency, and emerging clean technology are no longer optional, but are essential,” Wellington said.
CIBC Caribbean has also played a leading role in innovative climate and conservation financing, including groundbreaking blue finance solutions.
In Barbados, the bank served as a lead arranger of debt-for-nature and debt-for-climate swaps designed to generate more than US$144 million in fiscal savings for the Government of Barbados. The resources have been directed towards critical investments in water security, modernization of the sewage system, coastal resilience, and marine ecosystem protection.
Wellington described the transaction as an example of how financial innovation can create room for sustainable development while strengthening a country’s fiscal position.
The bank is now pursuing another major financing initiative in Barbados. In partnership with Bank of Nova Scotia, CIBC Caribbean will support healthcare challenges through a soon to be concluded BDS$1.2 billion debt-for-social swap, Wellington told CARIF delegates.
Across its 10-island footprint, the bank also continues to support healthcare, tourism, and infrastructure projects.
“These projects demonstrate a simple but powerful truth: strategic infrastructure investment delivers returns that multiply. It attracts private capital, creates jobs, improves productivity, builds resilience, and strengthens national competitiveness,” Wellington said.
She noted, however, that the scale of the Caribbean’s infrastructure needs means financing cannot come from any one source. Governments, multilateral institutions, commercial banks, private investors, pension funds, developers, technology providers and entrepreneurs will all have roles to play in closing the financing gap.
“It demands innovative financial structures, regulatory certainty, bankable projects, and courage to invest for future generations,” Wellington said. CIBC Caribbean is co-title sponsor, alongside KPMG, of CARIF 2026, the milestone 10th edition of the Caribbean Infrastructure Forum. The bank has been a major sponsor of CARIF since the event’s inception in 2016.