ECCB 2017-2018 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts

ECCB ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018

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Prudent financial stewardship resulted in a profit of $10.8 million, up by $4.4 million from the previous year. Throughout the year, we targeted some key areas to improve our effectiveness: •  • Launched a new website in August 2017; •  • Commissioned a consultancy to develop a Human Resource Development Strategy with a view to enhancing the Bank’s most valuable resource - its staff; •  • Augmented the Bank’s staff complement through targeted recruitment in strategic areas; and •  • Engaged stakeholders and the broader public in a variety of fora and via different media. Amidst the pursuit of high standards in key deliverables, we were able to successfully host the XII Intra-Regional Central Bank Games over the 2018 Easter weekend. Team ECCB placed second – our best ever performance (a big deal for us). In that effort, Team ECCB won the cricket competition and secured the coveted Sir K Dwight Venner Trophy for Cricket Excellence sponsored by De La Rue. I highly commend our team, coaches, volunteers as well as our management and staff on what has been described by many as one of the best Games ever. The Bank undertook its work against the backdrop of an improving global economy. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the world economy grew by 3.8 per cent in 2017 as the recovery from the Global Financial Crisis became more firmly entrenched. The prospects for the global economy remain positive, with the IMF projecting 3.9 per cent growth in 2018. However, this outlook remains fraught with downside risks, emanating from such concerns as threats of trade wars, continuing policy uncertainty and ongoing geopolitical tensions.

On the home front, the ECCU’s economic performance was disappointing, recording real output growth of 1.8 per cent in 2017 – below our target rate of 5.0 per cent per annum. ECCU real output is projected to grow by 2.7 per cent in 2018. For the upcoming financial year 2018/2019, our focus will be on resilience-building in all dimensions: macroeconomic, fiscal, financial and social. We will pursue the following: Monetary Stability •  • Develop a new framework for the selection of our external money managers; and •  • Investigate the optimal level of reserves and the use of a limited portion. Financial Sector Stability •  • Implement the new risk-based management infrastructure for licensed financial institutions; •  • Issue revised prudential standards to minimise risks, and prudential returns to capture detailed data; •  • Advance work on the establishment of a macro- prudential framework; and •  • Improve the payments infrastructure. Fiscal and Debt Sustainability •  • Continue our advocacy for fiscal and debt resilience frameworks; •  • Continue to build capacity in member countries to undertake public finance management; and •  • Improve the functioning of the Regional Government Securities Market. Prudent financial stewardship resulted in a profit of $10.8 million, up by $4.4 million from the previous year