Saint-Martin Economy 2025: Bank Lending Up 7.1% to €518.6 Million as Visitors Reach 2.6 Million, IEDOM Reports

The French side of the island is borrowing more and hiring more. The IEDOM, the French central bank's overseas arm, says bank lending in Saint-Martin rose 7.1% in 2025 to €518.6 million, while private-sector employment hit a record 8,119 salaried jobs. The Saint-Martin economy still runs on tourism: 2.6 million visitors came to the island last year, up 15.7%.

The 2025 annual report was published on October 2 and presented to the CCISM, the local chamber of commerce, on October 15 by François Groh, IEDOM director for Guadeloupe and the Northern Islands.

The numbers: Saint-Martin's 2025 economy

Banking (end of 2025)

• Bank loans outstanding: €518.6 million, up 7.1% year on year

• Housing and real-estate loans: up 5.1%

• Investment loans: up 10.2%; consumer loans up 9.5%; operating loans up 23.2%

• Doubtful loans: €10.6 million, a 2.0% ratio, down from 2.1% in 2024

• Deposits and financial assets in local banks: €536.2 million, up only 0.4%; household assets down 2.0%, company deposits up 4.4%

Tourism (2025, whole island)

• Visitors: 2.6 million, up 15.7%

• Cruise passengers: 1,607,053, up 16.6%, almost all through Philipsburg

• Air arrivals: 963,159, up 14.3%

• Share of visitors arriving on the Dutch side: 95.5%

• Grand Case airport: 107,165 arrivals, up 2.4%

• French-side hotel capacity: 1,263 rooms

Jobs and investment

• Private-sector salaried employees: 8,119 at the end of 2025, a record, up 5.3%

• Registered jobseekers (category A): 3,885 in December 2025, down 0.3%

• Unemployment rate: 27%, the latest census figure (2023)

• Planned Galisbay port expansion: estimated at €143 million

The IEDOM's message, as reported by Faxinfo, is that the economy is moving but needs "structuring projects" funded from 2027. Two weak points stood out in the presentation: Grand Case traffic fell about 10% in the first half of 2026 after the liquidation of Air Antilles, and about 30% of the goods landed on the Dutch side are bound for the French side.

Why it matters for owners and buyers

Credit is flowing. A 7.1% rise in lending with a doubtful-loan ratio of 2.0% describes a banking system that is lending and getting paid back. Housing and real-estate loans grew more slowly (5.1%) than business lending, which fits what we see in our own deals: at the top of the French-side market, many purchases close in cash or with financing arranged in mainland France, Canada or the US. Local credit matters more for the next tier, for residents buying apartments in Marigot, Baie Nettlé or Concordia.

Savings are flat. Deposits rose just 0.4% and household assets fell 2.0%. Households are spending or borrowing, not putting money aside. That is consistent with the high cost of living the IEDOM keeps flagging.

The French side depends on Juliana. With 95.5% of visitors arriving through the Dutch side, a villa in Terres Basses or Orient Bay rents on the strength of Princess Juliana airport and Philipsburg's cruise pier, not Grand Case. The drop at Grand Case after Air Antilles matters for inter-island links to Guadeloupe and St. Barths, less for long-haul guests. The new Air Caraïbes daily Guadeloupe service from January 2027 should help close that gap.

Galisbay is the project to watch. A port that handles more of the French side's imports directly would cut a layer of cost from everything a property owner buys, from building materials to furniture. A €143 million plan is large for a territory whose collectivity invested €79.6 million in 2025, so timing and funding will decide whether it delivers.

Our read

These are 2025 numbers, but they confirm what we see on the ground in 2026: more visitors, more jobs, banks willing to lend, and a French side that lives off the island's shared airport. For buyers, the French side's appeal has not changed. Prices on the beach in Grand Case, Orient Bay and Terres Basses hold because supply is scarce and the land-use rules are strict.

The risks are structural, not cyclical: an unemployment rate of 27%, a slow pace of social-housing delivery, and imports that still route through the Dutch side. None of that stops a sale in Terres Basses. It does shape the long-term story for the French side's towns, and the investment calendar for 2027 is where we will look next.

If you own on the French side and want a view on what your property would fetch this season, see what is listed on both sides of the island or talk to us. We are licensed on both sides.

Sources: IEDOM, Rapport annuel économique de Saint-Martin 2025 (published October 2, 2026); Faxinfo, October 20, 2026; Outremers360, October 19, 2026.