As part of the thrust to provide the public with a better understanding of the role and functions of the ECCB and how its work affects their lives, the Bank launched its weekly programme, ECCB Connects in April 2016.
The programme is aired in seasons which run for three consecutive months with new programmes released on Wednesdays. As at 31 July 2017, 56 programmes had been released on the Bank’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. The topics covered included: • How the ECCB Issues and Manages EC Currency; • Steps to Bank Resolution; • How the Work of ECCB Economists Impacts the Lives of the People of the ECCU; • Correspondent Banking Relations; • Banking Products and Services; • Counterfeiting; • Electronic Payments System • Retirement Planning • Personal Financial Management • Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange – A Viable InvestmentOption.
Country Outreach Visits Country outreach programmes were coordinated as part of the Bank’s new thrust to deepen its stakeholder communication through more focused engagement and discussions. The Governor travelled to the eight ECCB member countries to meet with the Heads of State, Cabinets, Leaders of Opposition, Chambers of Commerce, social partners and the media to share the Vision for the ECCB. 27th Annual Conference With Commercial Banks The conference was held from 10 - 11 November 2016 under the theme, “The Way Forward: Commercial Banks in a New Environment.” Representatives from commercial banks and non-bank financial institutions from the eight ECCB member countries attended and participated in relevant and timely discourse pertaining to the advancement of the banking sector within the sub-region. The topics covered included: • De-risking: Impacts and Solutions • Basel II and IFRS 9: Where are we? • Credit and the Macro-environment.
Financial Information Month Financial Information Month is a regional financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial education campaign executed in October throughout the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) since 2002. The programme for the month is planned and implemented through the collaborative efforts of the ECCB, ECCU member governments, financial and academic institutions, the media, other private and public sector institutions and community based groups.
The campaign incorporates a series of initiatives designed to support the goals of a financially developed and vibrant ECCU region that fosters strong and sustainable economic growth and the improved well-being of the region’s citizens and residents.
The theme for Financial Information Month 2017 - Retirement Planning: Making Your Golden Years Golden, is geared towards sensitising the public on the realities of retirement for current and future generations of retirees and providing information on the actions they need to take now to help ensure a good quality of life during the Golden Years. The areas of focus during the month will include: savings, investment and insurance options, debt and risk management, legacy planning, cyber security, the cost of retirement, retirement benefits and health and wellness.
This year’s logo design shows human figures of increasing sizes walking along a colourful pathway which ends with a pot of golden eggs. The portrayal of the human figures of increasing sizes walking along a colourful pathway signifies retirement planning starting from the first day of employment and continuing throughout the individual’s income earning years; while the raised hands of the last figure signify jubilation having come to the end of one’s working years and confidence in knowing that the time has come to reap the benefits of planning for retirement.
The coloured pathway represents the varying events that one will encounter on the journey through life and the pot of golden eggs at the end represents the rewards to be gained from retirement planning. The pot of golden eggs further portrays the ability to maintain a good standard of living; smoother transition from active working life to retirement; a sense of achievement and financial independence.
Financial and Business Training The ECCB is committed to arming the people of the ECCU with the knowledge to help develop their entrepreneurial and financial management skills. During the year, emphasis was placed on small business development. Workshops for small business owners were held in four of the eight member states. In The Community The ECCB’s community outreach initiatives are designed to foster development within the ECCU through advocacy and support, capacity building, collaboration and information sharing.
21st Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Lecture “The Gig Economy, Secular Stagnation and Sir Arthur Lewis” Professor Avinash Persaud, non-executive Chairman of Elara Capital PLC and Intelligence Capital Ltd in the UK and Emeritus Professor of Gresham College, UK. In his lecture, Professor Persaud articulated how the ideas of Sir Arthur Lewis laid the foundation for understanding global development in the 21st Century and the new gig economy. The lecture gave insights into how what are often seen as current events, were foretold in Sir Arthur Lewis’ tale of growth under unlimited supplies of labour, long before the internet was even imagined.
This year, a Question and Answer segment was added, giving the audience the opportunity to engage the lecturer after his presentation. Following the lecture, Governor Antoine, presented the 8th Annual Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Book Award to Mr Nigel Scott, Principal of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College. The book award is presented annually in alphabetical order to a selected college in the respective ECCB member country. This gesture accords the college the opportunity to select publications for its library collection. ECCU Best Corporate Citizen Award The Republic Bank (Grenada) Limited was awarded the 2016 Best Corporate Citizen Award Among ECCU Commercial Banks for its outstanding contribution to the overall development and welfare of the people of Grenada. The Republic Bank (Grenada) Limited also received the Good Corporate Citizen Awards for Cultural Development, Educational Development, Environmental Awareness and Sports.
The other banks which received Good Corporate Citizen Awards were: National Bank of Dominica, Ltd, which received the Good Corporate Citizen Awards for Customer Service and Financial Education and Empowerment; and Antigua Commercial Bank, which was presented with the Good Corporate Citizen Award for Community Outreach and Social Services.
OECS/ECCB Under-23 Netball Tournament In 1991, the ECCB, in keeping with its thrust to promote regional integration, began collaboration with the OECS to host the OECS/ECCB Under-23 Netball Tournament. The ECCB’s continued sponsorship of the tournament over the years demonstrates the Bank’s vision of fostering regional integration and its commitment to the overall development of the region’s young women through sports.
2017 marked the 27th year of the tournament which was hosted at the Tanteen Netball Complex in St George’s, Grenada from 16 – 20 June. Six teams competed for the championship title: Anguilla, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Team Grenada walked away as the champions for the third consecutive year.
In keeping with its commitment to the overall development of the region’s youth, the ECCB incorporates a development session which has been a key feature of the tournament since 1999. This theme of the session was: Building a Success Driven Team. Yvette Payne, Head of TVET at the T.A. Marryshow Community College in Grenada, facilitated the session. ¤
