{"id":253065,"date":"2025-10-09T06:28:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T10:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=253065"},"modified":"2025-10-09T07:34:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T11:34:12","slug":"central-bank-makes-it-easier-for-ordinary-people-to-invest-in-government-bonds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/central-bank-makes-it-easier-for-ordinary-people-to-invest-in-government-bonds\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Bank Makes It Easier for Ordinary People to Invest in Government Bonds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ECCB and ECCU Member Governments Partner<\/strong> to Boost Investment by Households<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Regional Government Securities Market (RGSM), in partnership with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), has launched a new Retail Bond Initiative to make government securities more accessible to everyday citizens across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).<\/p>

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For more than 20 years, the RGSM has provided governments with a reliable avenue to raise funds for development, mobilising about EC$20.7 billion to date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet household participation remains limited, with just 1.5 per cent ($310.3m) of that total coming from individuals and only 600 people having ever invested.<\/p>

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Fiscal and Debt Specialist at the ECCB, Juletta Edinborough, said the new initiative seeks to change this by putting investment opportunities directly within reach of households.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She explained that, after the Regional Debt Coordinating Committee (RDCC)\u2014the oversight body for the RGSM\u2014 requested that steps be taken to encourage greater market participation by households, ECCB\u2019s Research, Statistics and Data Analytics Department (RSDAD) conducted a survey.\u00a0 <\/p>

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The survey revealed three key barriers that kept individuals from investing on the RGSM: (i) the high minimum investment amount of EC$5,000; (ii) high fees; and (iii) lack of knowledge. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, the RDCC, in partnership with the ECCB, developed the retail bond initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have taken action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a first step in moving individuals from Savers to Investors<\/em>. So we encourage ECCU citizens and residents to take advantage of this investment product that we are bringing to the market,\u201d the Fiscal and Debt Specialist said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A retail bond is a type of debt security specifically targeted at retail or individual investors rather than large institutional investors, and is more affordable and accessible for households than traditional wholesale bonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Features of the ECCU Retail Bond<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n