Eastern Caribbean Central Bank 2024-2025 Annual Report

EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANK ANNUAL REPORT 2024 - 2025

Organisational Effectiveness and Development

Country Outreach Programme The Bank continued to engage ECCU stakeholders in 2024 through its Country Outreach Programme. During the reporting period, the Bank conducted engagements in Saint Lucia from 9-12 September 2024. Saint Lucia’s outreach mission focused on The Big Push and a presentation titled: The Big Push: Pursuing Bold Actions to Transform Saint Lucia’s Economy set the tone for discussions on the pursuit of bold actions that can transform the Saint Lucian economy, the largest in the ECCU. The context of growth in an environment largely influenced by the geopolitical developments in the international economy and challenges in the region were foremost on the agenda. While geopolitics, climate risks, crime, debt and human capital were major subjects of discussion, the resilience of the Saint Lucian economy was noteworthy, along with the many opportunities that were highlighted, including the successes of the world’s fastest woman, Julien Alfred. In addition, the ECCBupdated the public on financial stability issues, both at the country and currency union levels. These included the need for timely passage of pending key pieces of financial sector legislation, implementation of a hybrid Basel II/III framework, climate risk and cyber security risk management. The mission team embraced the opportunity to engage a diverse group of stakeholders on matters of financial literacy, financial inclusion, and the role that each citizen can play in the overall financial and economic stability of the country and, by extension, the currency union. The Bank shared its strategic themes and initiatives for the medium term and discussed how collective action could transform the economies of Saint Lucia and the ECCU. These initiatives include the ease of opening bank accounts, the establishment of a credit bureau and progress made on market conduct. The discussions were fruitful, and the ECCB will continue to utilise the suggestions and ideas as valuable input towards the Bank’s ongoing policy development for the region.

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