2018 Christmas Message by Timothy N.J. Antoine Governor, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift”
(2 Corinthians 9:15, NIV)
My dear ECCB family,
Greetings to you in this yuletide season – a unique celebration of faith, family, love and hope.
As we reflect on the year soon ending, we acknowledge the many challenges facing our Currency Union. These include: climate change and a paucity of resources for adaptation and building resilience, new OECD demands, rising oil prices and BREXIT.
That said, there remains much for which we ought to be thankful.
We are thankful that our beautiful isles were spared this past hurricane season.
We are thankful for the opportunity to serve the people of the ECCU.
And we are thankful for all our partnerships and your prayers.
Indeed, the year 2018 has been a relatively good one for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union.
Following the growth setback last year, the ECCU recovered and is projected to grow by about 3 per cent. Furthermore, there has been a reduction in unemployment in some member countries.
The ECCB continues to make significant strides with the implementation of our strategic plan. Amid all of our hard work to preserve monetary and financial stability and promote growth and development, there were several memorable moments including:
- The celebration of our 35th anniversary;
- Our global award by GlobalMarkets;
- Our hosting of the Intra Regional Central Bank Games;
- Our basketball team that emerged as champions of the St Kitts Amateur Basketball Association A-Division league
- Our Christmas Lighting of the ECCB Campus.
Christmas is indeed, the most wonderful time of the year.
As we look ahead to 2019, an exciting year beckons as several of our strategic initiatives are set to come to fruition including the Credit Bureau, the Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme, the rollout of our FinTech pilot and our new bank notes. We look forward to these and more with great anticipation.
So, from my family and me, to you:
Monetary Council, Board, management and staff, retirees, local, regional and international partners and the citizens of the ECCU:
Merry Christmas!
May 2019 bring greater peace and prosperity for you.
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