ECCB 2020-2021 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts

FINANCIAL RESULTS

Statement of Financial Position As of 31 March 2021, the ECCB’s total assets amounted to $5,442.1 million, an increase of $65.4 million or 1.2 per cent compared to the position at the end of the prior year. The increase in our asset base was driven primarily by growth of $285.4 million or 76.5 per cent in Domestic Assets offset by a decrease of $220.0 million or 4.4 per cent in Foreign Assets. Domestic Assets expanded primarily due to increases in Participating Governments’ Securities, Participating Governments’ Advances, Property and Equipment, and Pension Asset. Participating Governments’ Securities grew by $123.3 million attributable to an increase in the Bank’s holdings of debentures issued by Member Governments during the financial year. Participating Governments’ Advances rose by $112.1 million as a result of short-term loans extended to Member Governments. Property and Equipment increased by $36.8 million, which arose from the revaluation of the Bank’s land and buildings and the acquisition of fixed assets. These increases were moderated by a decline of $7.3 million in Term Deposits. Foreign Assets contracted mainly due to the sale of foreign currency balances to commercial banks in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and the depreciation in the market value of Foreign Investment Securities and U.S. Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of the U.S. bond market over the financial year. This was partially offset by the reinvestment of income on foreign investments and the reinvestment of gains on the sale of foreign investment securities. Total Liabilities increased by $45.2million or 0.9 per cent to $4,996.9million year-over-year. The growth in total Liabilities was mainly attributable to increases of $162.9 million in Commercial Banks’ Current accounts, $53.8 million in Bankers’ Collateral accounts, $33.8 million in Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange account and $12.4 million in Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank’s Operating account. The aforementioned increases were offset by decreases of $93.3 million in Participating Governments’ Call accounts, $81.0 million in Participating Governments’ Fixed Deposits accounts, $40.5 million in Commercial Banks’ Fixed Deposits accounts and $10.6 million in Participating Governments’ Operating accounts. Total Equity increased by $20.2 million or 4.7 per cent to $445.2 million year-over-year, led by an increase of $23.9 million in General Reserve due to allocation from net profit for the year ended 31 March 2021 in accordance with the ECCB Agreement Act. This increase was offset by a reduction of $3.6 million in Other Reserves on account of a decline in Unrealised Holding Gains on Foreign Investment Securities of $55.0 million moderated by increases in Revaluation Reserve of $31.6 million and Pension Reserve of $19.0 million. STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS The Bank’s results of operations for the year ended 31 March 2021 were marked by the effects of the unprecedented Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During the year, major disruptions in the global environment negatively impacted our financial results as interest rates remained at historically low levels. Despite the unparalleled global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial year ended 31 March 2021 was a profitable year for the ECCB.

Chart 6 - Total Assets (EC$’M)

Chart 7 - Assets, Liabilities and Equity (EC$’M)

EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANK ANNUAL REPORT 2020/2021 36