The St. Kitts-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) says it has recorded a net profit of EC$32.7 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) for the 2018-2019 financial year.
It said that this third consecutive year of profit exceeds last year’s profit by EC$21.9 million or 204 per cent.
According to the Bank’s Annual Report and Statement of Accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2019, and released here on Friday, indicates that the profit was due primarily to an increase in interest income on foreign reserve assets.
“The new financial year 2019/2020 will see us forging ahead with ongoing and new initiatives under the Strategic Plan with a focus on continuing our modernisation thrust,” said ECCB Governor, Timothy N. J. Antoine.
The ECCB, which serves as a central bank for Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts-Nevis and Montserrat, said during the new financial year, it will continue to implement a number of programmes as set out in its 2017-2021 Strategic Plan.
It said these include the implementation of the Digital Currency Pilot Project, enhancing security and durability of EC notes through the issue of polymer notes as well as licence a credit bureau operator for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).
The ECCB said that it would also deploy the ECCU public debt and market Information webpages and support the development of a “Digital; Economy Project for the ECCU” in collaboration with the World Bank. Meanwhile, the ECCB said that it has engaged the services of a St. Lucia-based marketing and strategic communication firm to conduct an assessment of its communication, public education and community outreach programmes.
It said Right Angle Imaging is conducting the assessment which targets citizens and residents of the ECCU aged 14 to 60 years-old.
The Bank said that the results will guide the development of a comprehensive communication strategy and inform the development of strategies to increase the effectiveness of the Bank’s public education, community outreach and communication programmes.
“It will also provide information to help to guide the work of the Bank and the development of programmes to better serve the people of the region.”
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Who gets the profits? How?
Excellent banking business. Maybe they can now lower loan interest rates.
BTW, we do need a $2 bill.
That small amounts of profit from a bank that serves over 8 countries?.
@Alex
Funny I was thinking the same thing at this rate the dollar may encounter difficulty in the near future.
Governor Timothy N.J. Antoine: In 2019/2020 if you are going to forge ahead with ongoing and new initiatives under the Strategic Plan with a focus on continuing the modernization thrust – Perhaps you could donate those profits to Dogs and Cats of Antigua so they can continue helping the animals in which the government doesn’t seem to give a shit about!!!!!
Where has my comment disappeared to? T’s been 2 days now
Ok here we go again. Quite amazing one would say that we can make so much money from investment on our foreign reserve assets. Which brings the point of D Risking to mind. Lennox Weston said that when in opposition and now even the PM is making these suggestion. The ECCB needs to consider opening branches in those countries where we have those foreign reserves. USA, Canada and Europe. And soon perhaps China. This will be the best way to protect us against D-Risking. And we do not need to have a commercial bank that is open to the public for checking accounts or so. And they can be assure that all the OECS banks will have their accounts through them. And they can now also have their investment accounts wit the central bank rather than the USA banks that really do not appreciate the small business they represent.
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