2018 Financial Stability Report

O VERVIEW OF THE

F INANCIAL

S ECTOR IN THE

E CCU

2.

The Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) comprises six (6) sovereign countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) and two (2) UK overseas territories (Anguilla and Montserrat) with an overall population of approximately 620,000 persons. The financial sector in the currency union is organized around 20 licensed commercial banks, 12 of which are indigenous commercial banks owned by resident investors including governments, and eight (8) foreign owned groups (which in turn operate 23 subsidiaries or branches across the ECCU). Besides commercial banks and other institutions licensed under the Banking Act, the financial system also comprises of approximately 160 insurance companies, 49 credit unions, 6 development banks/boards,

offshore banking entities and a range of other non-bank financial institutions comprising investments and securities firms, building societies and money services business. For the immediate purposes of this report, focus is on institutions licensed under the Banking Act, Credit Unions and Insurance companies. The financial markets are the interbank market (IBM), the Regional Government Securities market (RGSM) and the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange (ECSE) which make up the money and capital markets; and the financial infrastructure which incorporates the payment settlement system and the legal and regulatory framework that facilitates the effective operation of financial intermediation (Figure 1).

Financial Stability Report 2018

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