ECCB 2022-2023 Annual Report and Financial Statements

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Annual Report 2022 - 2023

Governor’s Foreword A Big Push “Big results require big ambitions.” ~ Heraclitus

T he 2022-2023 financial year has been a period of recovery for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). After two years of telecommuting for most staff of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), ECCB staff returned to Campus, on a hybrid basis in April 2022. The Bank remains ever more committed to advancing its strategic goals in support of member countries, which continued to face a very challenging economic and policy environment. During the year, the world marked the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine – a conflict for which there appears to be no end in sight. Like many of the recent shocks on the region, this is another external event whose impacts are being felt on our shores, inclusive of higher food and fertilizer prices. Despite

these headwinds, our region remains resilient and focused on elevating its growth and development trajectory. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to fade into the background, the ECCU economic recovery strengthened. Real GDP growth for 2022 is estimated to be 8.9 per cent. This performance was, no doubt, aided by the performance of the region’s critical Tourism sector, which rebounded strongly despite facing severe regional air connectivity constraints. In comparison, according to the April 2023 edition of the World Economic Outlook by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global economy grew by 3.4 per cent in 2022. The IMF anticipates “A Rocky Recovery” in light of the ‘polycrisis’ gripping the global

1

Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator