The Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) held its 67th meeting at the Grand Beach Hotel in Grenada on 16 July 2010, under the chairmanship of the Honourable Nazim Burke, Minister for Finance, Grenada.

The meeting was preceded by a Handing-Over ceremony to mark the change in chairmanship from the Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of the Commonwealth of Dominica, whose tenure of office as chairman had expired. Chairmanship is rotated annually among the eight member countries as dictated by the established protocol of the Monetary Council.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement 1983 mandates that “the Council shall meet not less than twice each year to receive from the Governor, the Bank’s report on monetary and credit conditions and to provide directives and guidelines on matters of monetary and credit policy to the Bank and for such other purposes as are prescribed under this Agreement”. Accordingly, Council was apprised of the recent monetary and credit conditions in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and this was done against the backdrop of the global economic and financial developments.

Council noted that the economies of the ECCU, being small, open and highly vulnerable to external shocks, suffered a general decline in economic activity brought about by the global crisis, with repercussions being particularly evident in the financial sector and in the government’s fiscal accounts. Real output is estimated to have contracted by 7.3 per cent in 2009 and preliminary data indicate a further contraction of 4.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2010. Council further noted that although recent indicators point to a recovery in the global economy, it is a rather fragile one, and the impact on the economic performance of the currency union is likely to be delayed, as the high level of unemployment and the impairment of wealth, particularly in the USA, are expected to reduce external demand. In particular, tourist arrivals and private capital inflows are projected to remain below the pre-crisis levels in the near-term. Accordingly, the ECCU is expected to under-perform for a second consecutive year with a decline of 2.3 percent projected for 2010.

For full content of the Communique and the Update on BRITISH AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY IN THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN AND CLICO please click the links

67th MEETING OF THE MONETARY COUNCIL

Update on British American Insurance Company

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