ECCB 2015/2016 Annual Report

EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANK

Bank and ushers in a single banking space in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union.

MONEY AND CAPITAL MARKET DEVELOPMENT

Amendment to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement - As at 31 March 2016, five of the eight Participating Governments had issued the statutory order to give effect to the amendment to the Agreement. Eastern Caribbean Asset Management Corporation Agreement and Bill – Seven of the eight Participating Governments have passed the enabling legislation for the establishment of the Eastern Caribbean Asset Management Corporation (ECAMC). The ECAMC will facilitate the resolution of weak banks on a regional level by acting as an asset management vehicle for problem assets of approved financial institutions. Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (Withdrawal from Circulation of One-Cent and Two-Cent Coins) Regulations, 2015 - On 1 July 2015, the Bank, by regulation, called in the one-cent and two-cent coins it had issued for the purpose of withdrawing the coins from circulation as assessments showed that they were under-utilised and expensive to produce. The Regulations, made by the Bank, in exercise of the powers granted to it under Articles 8, 20 and 45 of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement, have been published by all Participating Governments. Regulatory The Bank concluded the resolution of ABI Bank Ltd and continues to pursue the implementation strategy for the resolution of the Caribbean Commercial Bank (Anguilla) Ltd (CCB) and National Bank of Anguilla Ltd (NBA).

The Bank, in collaboration with two Canadian Government funded projects and the IMF, hosted a workshop on formulating investor relations programmes in February 2016. Staff from the debt units in all the member countries attended the workshop which provided a platform for the development of their own Investor Relations Programme in an effort to expand the investor base for government securities. Five of the member governments: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines, continued to utilise the RGSM to meet part of their financing needs. The five governments issued a total of 55 securities on the RGSM during the financial year – the same number as in the preceding year. The number of Treasury bill auctions increased to 47 from 46, while the number of bonds declined to eight from nine. That reflected the continued appetite of investors for short-dated government securities compared to medium and longer term instruments. All, but one, of the securities issued on the RGSM in the current financial year were denominated in local currency, as was the case in the preceding financial year. During the year, the value of securities issued by the Participating Governments on the RGSM increased by $115.3m (1.3 per cent) to $1,172m, which represented the highest level of activity recorded on the RGSM since its inception in November 2002 (See Chart II). The main investors continued to be the commercial banks. However, there was significant growth in the participation of businesses and households.

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ECCB A nnual R eport 2015/2016