BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC — Governor of St Kitts-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, has described as a “wonderful achievement which should never be taken for granted” the decision 48 years ago to peg the US dollar at a fixed rate of EC$2.70 to US$1.00.

“This is a tremendous source of pride for our region because it represents stability. The value of the dollar 48 years ago, the parity is the same as it is 48 years ago. It gives confidence, confidence to you our customers, you the people of our currency union,” Antoine said.

The ECCB serves as the central bank for Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), namely Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The EC dollar was first pegged to the US dollar on July 7, 1976, and Governor Antoine said, “You know it is going to be the value, inflation aside, tomorrow because the parity is the same.

“You know you can come in and get your foreign exchange without any restrictions or foreign exchange controls, and for investors you know when you are ready to repatriate your profits, dividends, there are no controls.”

Antoine said, as a result, foreign investors can invest freely, adding “that is a wonderful, wonderful achievement and should never be taken for granted”.

He said there are many places around the world, “not far from here in the Currency Union, but around the world, where they do not have that experience, they do not have that stability.

“I am constantly reminded, especially by the business community, how important that stability is. The very important thing it does, it helps to manage inflation. I know in recent years we have had the spike coming after the [COVID-19] pandemic, but generally speaking, over this 48 years it has kept inflation relatively low, a lot of it because we are importing it from the US,” Antoine said, adding, “Long live the peg.”

Meanwhile, the ECCB has published its ‘Independent Auditors’ Report and Financial Statements’ for the financial year ended March 31, 2024, showing that it has a record profit of EC$80.2 million, the highest ever in the bank’s history.

The ECCB said the financial year, dubbed a year of ‘Reflection, Celebration and Implementation’ in honour of the ECCB’s 40th anniversary, saw the financial institution continuing to deliver service excellence to the governments and people of the ECCU.

The ECCB said that in pursuit of its mandates for monetary and financial stability, it advanced work on the establishment of a regional standards-setting body for the regulation of the non-bank financial sector and for an Office of Financial Conduct and Inclusion.

It said work also advanced towards the operationalisation of a credit bureau for the Currency Union, the launch of which is planned for later this year.

The ECCB said that it maintained its focus on modernising payments in the region with the conclusion of its central bank digital currency pilot and work on the development of an instant payments system.

In addition, the first-ever Financial Inclusion and Literacy Survey for the ECCU was successfully completed, providing the ECCB and its partners with data to design programmes that will arm the ECCU people with skills and knowledge to become financially literate and resilient.

The bank said it advanced other key strategic initiatives over the financial year, including the launch of its new website in July last year; bolstering its risk management and business continuity framework; and investing in its data analytics capabilities in an effort to deliver on its strategic priority of data and digital transformation.

Looking forward, Antoine said the ECCB will continue to advocate for The Big Push Challenge proffered in January 2023 at the launch of the anniversary celebrations.

The Big Push calls on the governments and people of the region to take collective actions to double the size of their economies over the next 10 years, thereby helping to elevate the quality of life of the people.