June 2020 Economic and Financial Review

June 2020 Economic and Financial Review

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

on other sectors, as net claims to central

Antigua and Barbuda Monetary Survey Percentage Change

government rose by 7.9 per cent.

(M2) %

(NFA)%

-10.0 -8.0 -6.0 -4.0 -2.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

15.0

10.0

Antigua and Barbuda Domestic Credit

5.0

EC$M DMC

EC$M

0.0

1400.0

2420.00 2440.00 2460.00 2480.00 2500.00 2520.00 2540.00 2560.00 2580.00 2600.00

-5.0

1200.0

-10.0

1000.0

800.0

-15.0

19 Q1

19 Q2

19 Q3

19 Q4

20 Q1

20 Q2

600.0

400.0

Money Supply (M2)

Net Foreign Assets

200.0

0.0

Declines in both quasi money (8.0 per cent)

18 Q4 19 Q1 19 Q2 19 Q3 19 Q4 20 Q1 20 Q2

To Households

To Businesses

Total Domestic Credit (DMC)

and narrow money (1.7 per cent) contributed

to this decline. The decline in narrow

Despite the observed declines in deposit

money was underpinned by a 5.4 per cent

holdings during the review period, the

decline in currency in circulation, as the

liquidity position of the banking system in

crisis may have resulted in greater use of

Antigua and Barbuda remained moderately

cards and other forms of electronic

healthy at the end of June 2020. The ratio

payments. After having contracted by 1.8

of total loans and advances to total deposits

per cent in the preceding year, the net

inched upwards to 70.3 per cent from

foreign assets of the banking system

69.2 per cent at end December 2019, while

advanced by 0.5 per cent to $1,768.5m in

the ratio of net liquid assets to total deposits

the period reviewed. The expansion was

rose by 1.8 percentage points to

attributable to a 15.3 per cent decline in

41.1 per cent, above the ECCB minimum

liabilities to non-residents, alongside a fall

benchmark of 20.0 per cent.

Asset quality

of 5.8 per cent in non-resident claims.

of the banking system improved as the ratio

Reversing the 0.8 per cent expansion in the

of commercial banks’ non-performing loans

previous year, domestic claims 6 contracted

to total loans inched lower to 5.2 per cent,

by 2.1 per cent to $2,508.9m, partly

from 5.3 per cent at the end of 2019, partly

influenced by a 3.9 per cent drop in claims

due to the loan payment deferral

programme. 7

6 Due to a change in methodology in compiling the monetary, the nomenclature changed to ‘claims’ from ‘credit’

7 To mitigate the impact of the crisis on borrowers, the ECCB in collaboration with the Bankers’ Association agreed

21