Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
St. Kitts | |
Established | October 1983 |
---|---|
Ownership | 100% state ownership[1] |
Governor | Timothy Antoine |
Central bank of | |
Currency | Eastern Caribbean dollar XCD (ISO 4217) |
Reserves | 1 560 million USD[1] |
Website | www |
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is a
Two of its core mandates are to maintain price and financial sector stability, by acting as a stabilizer and safe-guard of the banking system in the Eastern Caribbean Economic and Currency Union (OECS/ECCU).
Background
In 1946, a West Indian Currency Conference saw Barbados, British Guiana, the Leeward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and the Windward Islands agree to establish a unified decimal currency system based on a West Indian dollar to replace the earlier arrangement of having three different Boards of Commissioners of Currency for Barbados (which also served the Leeward and Windward Islands), British Guiana, and Trinidad & Tobago.[3][4] in 1950, the British Caribbean Currency Board (BCCB) was set up in Trinidad,[5] with the sole right to issue notes and coins of the new unified currency and given the mandate of keeping full foreign exchange cover to ensure convertibility at $4.80 per pound sterling.[3]
In 1951, the British Virgin Islands joined the arrangement, but this led to discontent because that territory was more naturally drawn to the currency of the neighbouring
Under the Eastern Caribbean Currency Agreement 1965, the British West Indies dollar was replaced at par by the Eastern Caribbean dollar and the BCCB was replaced by the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority (ECCA).[5] British Guiana withdrew from the currency union in 1966. Grenada, which had used the Trinidad and Tobago dollar from 1964, rejoined the common currency arrangement in 1968.[3] Barbados withdrew from the currency union in 1972, following which the ECCA headquarters were moved to Basseterre in St. Kitts.[3]
History
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement, signed at
Unlike the ECCA, the ECCB's competencies include
In early 2015, the bank announced plans to phase out the production of the 1 and 2 cent pieces. The date was finalised as July 1, 2015. When a motive was sought, it was stated that it takes about six cents to make one cent pieces and about eight cents to make a 2 cent piece.
Governors
- Sir Cecil Jacobs, 1973 to 1989[7]
- Sir K. Dwight Venner, 1989 to 2015[7]
- Timothy Antoine, since 2015[8]
See also
- Economy of the Caribbean
- Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange
- Currencies of the British West Indies
- Central Bank of Aruba
- Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten
- Central banks and currencies of the Caribbean
- List of central banks
- List of financial regulatory authorities by jurisdiction
References
- ^ a b Weidner, Jan (2017). "The Organisation and Structure of Central Banks" (PDF). Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.
- ISBN 9781475577693. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Van Beek, Fritz (2000). "The Financial System". The Eastern Caribbean Currency Union: Institutions, Performance, and Policy Issues. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
- ^ WEST INDIES (DECIMAL CURRENCY), 05 June 1946, British House of Commons Hansard
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8213-7460-3. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
- ^ Phil Rose (2013). "Chapter 15: The Role of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank". In Alfred Schipke; Aliona Cebotari; Nita Thacker (eds.). The Eastern Caribbean Economic and Currency Union: Macroeconomics and Financial Systems. Washington DC: International Monetary Fund.
- ^ a b "Former Governors and Deputy Governors | Eastern Caribbean Central Bank". Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- ^ "About the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank". www.eccb-centralbank.org. Archived from the original on 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2016-09-21.