June 2020 Economic and Financial Review

June 2020 Economic and Financial Review THE COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA

loans to gross loans stood at 15.9 per cent,

Dominica Domestic Credit

EC$M

EC$M

10.9 percentage points above the ECCB’s

500.0

- 100.00 200.00 300.00 400.00 500.00 600.00 700.00 800.00 900.00

tolerable limit.

400.0

300.0

200.0

External Sector Developments

100.0

Dominica Visible Trade

0.0

EC$M

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

300.0

To Households

To Businesses

Total Domestic Credit (DMC)

200.0

100.0

The net foreign assets of the banking system

0.0

stood at $973.8m at the end of June 2020,

-100.0

an increase of 10.8 per cent over the stock

-200.0

-300.0

recorded at the end of December 2019.

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

Claims 8 on non-residents increased by

Total Exports

Total Imports

Trade Balance

4.3 per cent, while their liabilities declined

The merchandise trade deficit narrowed

by 14.1 per cent.

by 45.9 per cent to $218.1m during the

first half of 2020. This outcome was driven

Due to the impact of the COVID-19

by a sharp contraction in import payments,

pandemic the ECCB and the Bankers

which more than offset a fall in export

Association in the ECCU agreed to a loan

receipts. These declines were mainly

repayment moratorium programme for six

related to measures introduced to contain the

months in the ECCU. However, even as the

spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the

pandemic adversely affected the economy of

second quarter and the associated decrease

the Commonwealth of Dominica, the

in household and business incomes. In line

banking sector remained liquid. The ratio

with the decline in visitor arrivals, gross

of net liquid assets to total deposits rose by

travel receipts are estimated to have

4.4 percentage points to 52.3 per cent, well

decreased by 54.3 per cent to $64.7m in the

above the ECCB’s minimum benchmark of

first six months of 2020.

20.0 per cent. The ratio of nonperforming

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

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