ECCB 2023-2024 Annual Report

EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANK ANNUAL REPORT 2023 - 2024

S takeholder E ngagements Following Montserrat’s transfer of supervisory authority for AML/CFT for LFIs to the ECCB, on 26 January 2024, the ECCB facilitated a handover meeting with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Montserrat to discuss its supervisory action plan for the domestic banking sector. In congruence with the immediate outcomes of effectiveness and its collaboration and cooperation mandate, the ECCB continued to engage in various discussions with ECCU national regulators. Over the review period, the ECCB contributed to the work of the NAMLOCs for the respective member countries on which it serves - the Commonwealth of Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis. NAMLOCs remain vigilant in monitoring the efforts of agencies to address the outstanding deficiencies outlined in the 4 th round MEVALs, as the ECCU countries prepare for subsequent CFATF follow-ups and the 5 th round MEVALs. The ECCB also continued to provide policy advice through its representatives on the Boards of the Grenada Authority for the Regulation of Financial Institutions, the AML Commission in Grenada, the Financial Services Regulatory Commission in Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, and the Financial Services Authority in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Support to Member Countries; and Enhancing Collaboration in Policy-Making.

C ountry S urveillance The Bank remained dedicated to promoting balanced growth, economic stability and development in all member countries. It continued to monitor and analyse national, regional and international economic developments to support member countries in designing meaningful policies. The surveillance output continued to contribute to policy discussions and decisions both within the Bank and with member countries. Those insights included presentations and contribution to the Bank’s Reserve Management Committee (RMC) meetings, collaboration with counterparts of member countries as well as collaboration with other regional and international colleagues. The Bank’s staff provided technical support to member countries during IMF Article IV missions and staff visits. Given the uncertainty in the global environment from the ongoing Russian Ukraine conflict and continued geopolitical tensions throughout the financial year, the surveillance function became particularly critical to help the Bank assess the emerging risks, and analyse economic policy challenges to facilitate coordinated policy action. P ublication and I nformation D issemination The ECCB continued to provide the public with access to timely and objective information, to assist with economic decision-making through economic reports. Bi-annual Economic and Financial Reports (EFR) were prepared and published on the Bank’s website. The reports sought to present a concise, pertinent and objective account of macroeconomic

ECONOMIC SURVEILLANCE

The Bank, continued to harness the power of data and data visualisation tools into its outputs and analysis. In that regard, key areas included: Country Surveillance; Publications; Technical

51