The St Kitts and Nevis-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is reporting that its total assets stood at $3.3 billion by March 2012, compared to $2.8 billion for the previous year.
The figures have been disclosed by Central Bank Governor, Dwight Venner, who says this was mainly due to inflows of grants and loans to member governments from international institutions.
“Also contributing to this increase was the reinvestment of income on foreign assets and gains on the sale of foreign securities held within the ECCB’s foreign reserve portfolio,” Sir Dwight said in a report on the bank’s performance.
He’s also been reporting however, that the ECCB’s financial performance was impacted by the global crisis.
“The Bank realized net income of $11.7m as compared to the previous year’s income of $22.6m,” he said in an address televised across the OECS sub-region.
Sir Dwight said contributing to this “was a reduction in commission income on foreign transactions and lower gains on the sale of securities”.
According to the Central Bank governor, the major challenge facing the OECS countries is “the return to growth at a sufficiently high level to reduce unemployment to reasonable rates, to lower poverty levels, and to assist in maintaining the human development indices at their current levels and improving them where warranted”.
He says the ECCB has placed this subject very high on its agenda.
“We have been involved in some very intense work in-house and have participated in discussions at the country, currency union, regional and international levels in search of solutions to this problem,” Sir Dwight said.
A task force on debt, growth and development has been set up by the bank’s Monetary Council to look into that matter.
Its membership includes representatives from the ECCB, OECS member countries, the Caribbean Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Ask Thine Heart: How can a Fictitious insolvent Entity Create Currency when that Fictitious Entity merely exists on paper through its Corporate Charter, Articles of incorporation or its Statutes, Codes, resolutions,,,
No Fictitious Entity Has capability thereto Creating Currency,,, Only Ones whom Possesses “Energy” have capability therefor creation!!!
That 3.3 Billion represents equitable Interest Those Ones allocated therein Social Security [Insurance] [Trust] Fund created thereby grants therefrom those Ones’ Energies Granted thereto fictitious Entities including but not limited thereto “Central Bank of Eastern Caribbean” located therein Territory now known as Carib-bean,,,
Know thine-self be-fore thine ascend thereto Realms Unknown,,,
3.3 billion in assets and its so hard to earn a hundred dollar bill let alone save it.
As a sub-regional financial institution, the ECCB has and continues to deliver on its mandate in maintaining the stability of our currency and the integrity of the banking system in the member states comprising of the union. The Bank can be credited for its successful efforts in creating a solid platform to facilitate growth and development in the region. However, in light of the reported excess of liquidity at our banks, perhaps the ECCB could do a little more in using the tools available to it in encouraging/persuading or forcing our commercial banks to reduce their commercial/business lending rates in order to more actively stimulate national economic growth and development through our private sector.
ECCB should get real and stop painting pretty pictures for the islands as they did for St Lucia and some time ago for Dominica. The reality on the ground is far different that what is sometimes reported and according to inside sources the figures are sometimes tailored to suit a particular agenda.
Good job still for if it was not for the ECCB and the currency union some governments would be totally reckless.