BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - DESPITE experiencing difficult economic times in recent years, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas has disclosed that residents of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis own near one quarter of deposits in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).
Prime Minister Douglas - while speaking at the opening ceremony of the National Consultation on the Economy last week - total indicated that deposits increased to approximately $4 billion or 23% of total deposits into the ECCU.
“On the financial side of the economy, the banking system...remains stable with key liquidity and profitability indicators exceeding the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union regulatory benchmarks. As at the end of June 2014, total residents deposits increased to approximately $4 billion dollars which is equivalent to about 23% of resident’s deposits in the overall currency union.
“In other words residents in our tiny Federation own nearly a quarter of all bank deposits in the entire Currency Union which has as its members six independent island nations, all of which are much larger than St. Kitts and Nevis in population and land size, and two colonies of Great Britain.
Dr. Douglas further stated that he was also aware that credit conditions were still not up to par owing to tougher bank policies in crediting the private sector.
“At the same time, as I ask to recognize that there is money in the place, credit conditions remain subdued as in all OECS countries as credit to the private sector declined and banks appear to take a stance of risk aversion.”
He however noted that he is anticipating the trend to be reversed as the economy improves.
“As the economy improves it is expected that this trend will soon be reversed and businesses will again to benefit from the strong liquidity situation in our banking system. Indeed we will use every vehicle available to us to ensure that our people and their enterprises are afforded easier access to credit.”
