ECCB 2017-2018 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts

ECCB ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018

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Resilience and Progress in the Face of Adversity Despite the challenges of the financial year 2017/2018, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and the ECCB have demonstrated resilience and are marching forward toward a brighter 2018/2019 financial year

W hat began as a hopeful year for the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) ultimately turned out to be, in equal measure, an annus horribilis and an annus mirabilis . Despite the challenges of the financial year 2017/2018, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and the ECCB have demonstrated resilience and are marching forward toward a brighter 2018/2019 financial year. The financial year 2017/2018 will be indelibly etched into the minds of the people of the ECCU because of the devastating toll taken by the unrelenting 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The Season spawned a slew of major hurricanes, including two classified as category 5 – Irma andMaria – which battered five ECCB member countries, especially the Commonwealth of Dominica, Barbuda and Anguilla. Within a span of less than two weeks, those two hurricanes cut a wide swath of destruction across the ECCB member countries, resulting in damage and losses estimated at $5.0 billion. Those devastating climate-related events brought into stark relief, the reality of climate change in our small and vulnerable island developing states and underscored the imperative of building resilience. Even as we mourned with our affected brothers and sisters across the ECCU, we stood firmly in solidarity with them, offering financial, technical and practical support. Simultaneously, we pressed forward with our mission to “advance the good of the people of the currency union.” On that front, I am pleased to report on some sunnier developments.

Governor, Timothy N. J. Antoine

Undoubtedly, our most significant achievement for the financial year 2017/2018 was the launch of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Strategic Plan 2017-2021: Transforming the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union Together , in October 2017. The Strategic Plan codifies our vision for the socio- economic transformation of the currency union and comes at a critical juncture, particularly after the ravages of the 2017 hurricanes. The Plan serves as the overarching framework for the Bank’s work over the short and medium term. It is organised around five key