BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AS the region continues to face the ongoing international financial and economic meltdown, the need for integrated regulatory framework and public policy support has become more significant at the regional level and was one of the focal areas addressed during the 64th Meeting of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Monetary Council held in St. Kitts on February 13.
In attendance at the crucial gathering were Antigua’s Minister of Finance Hon. Dr. Errol Cort, Anguilla’s Finance Minister Hon. Victor F. Banks, Dominica Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, Grenada’s Minister of Finance Hon. Nazim Burke, Chief Minister and Minister of Finance for Montserrat Hon. Dr. Lowell Lewis, St. Kitts-Nevis Minister of Finance Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Hon. Stephenson King, and Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Hon. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.
As chairman of the meeting, Dr. Cort indicated that Council reaffirmed its support for the integrated regulatory framework which was being implemented for the financial sector of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), noting that it is critical to ensure continued stability of the system.
“Council focused its attention on the status of implementation of the Single Regulatory Units (SRUs) in the Member Countries which are intended to strengthen the regulation of financial institutions not supervised by the Central Bank. The integrated framework also includes upgrades to the legal framework that governs various classes of financial institutions such as cooperatives and insurance companies.
“Council acknowledged the critical importance of expediting of the SRUs in the context of the current global financial crisis and the impact on the regional financial sector, and accordingly reiterated its support of efforts to ensure that the minimum standards are attained with some urgency to allow full functionality of the SRUs. Council noted that timeframes had been established for the passage of the appropriate legislation at a recent meeting of the Attorneys General and Financial Secretaries of the ECCU Member Countries.”
The Antiguan Minister of Finance stated that Council underscored the need for greater collaboration between the governments and Central Banks of the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in addressing the current challenges being faced by the region’s financial sector. He further stated that Council agreed to encourage member governments to continue to take pre-emptive actions and appropriate policy measures to reinforce financial sector stability.
Key measures included the achievement of medium-term fiscal sustainability in order to increase the resilience of the economies to shocks and create fiscal space, and the refocusing and targeting of Public Sector Investment Programmes (PSIPs) to areas that would generate the greatest economic benefits in the short term to provide the necessary stimulus in the recovery effort. Council also highlighted that social protection programmes must be developed and implemented in a “targeted manner to protect the most vulnerable groups” in challenging economic times, while at the same time ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability.
Dr. Cort indicated that there is a greater need to engage the public in “active communication” in respect to proposed policy measures, stressing the importance of individuals’ responsibilities in managing their personal affairs in the face of challenging economic times.
