ECCB 2015/2016 Annual Report

EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANK

F oreword A New Vision for a New Era: 2016 - 2020 and Beyond

I t is my high honour and distinct privilege to serve the people of our region as Governor of the ECCB.

On 1 February 2016, I assumed office as the Governor of the ECCB, succeeding the Honourable Sir K Dwight Venner who was at the helm of ECCB for 26 years. Sir Dwight’s contribution to the ECCB and our region is colossal and his legacy is secure. It is my high honour and distinct privilege to serve the people of our region as Governor of the ECCB. The ECCB has made, and is now being positioned to make an even bigger contribution to the Currency Union through the pursuit of our purposes under Article 4 of the ECCB Agreement Act (1983): a. to regulate the availability of money and credit; b. to promote and maintain monetary stability; c. to promote credit and exchange conditions and a sound financial structure conducive to the balanced growth and development of the economies of the territories of the Participating

Governments; and d. to actively promote through means consistent with its objectives the economic development of the territories of the Participating Governments. The financial year 2015/2016 could be considered a turning point in the history of the ECCB and its member countries. The international economy was recovering from the financial and economic crisis and recorded growth of 3.1 per cent in 2015. The member countries of the ECCB were gradually emerging from the crisis and GDP growth slowly improved from 1.6 per cent in 2013 to an average of 2.7 per cent in 2014 and 2015. At the same time, the debt to GDP ratio of ECCB member governments decreased from 81.7 per cent in 2014 to 76.0 per cent in 2015 and the financial stability indicators such as liquidity, capital adequacy and profitability began to improve.

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ECCB A nnual R eport 2015/2016