Kitts-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) says it hopes that member countries that have not yet passed the Banking Amendment Bill 2024 will do so during the third quarter of this year.
So far, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis are the three member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) that have passed passed the legislation.
The ECCU comprises Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Speaking on the ECCB programme ‘ECCB Connects’, the ECCB Chief of Policy, Dr. Tracy Polius, said the Office of Financial Conduct and Inclusion, although not officially launched through the ECCU, is responsible for market conduct and supervision.
She said this oversight should not be considered a ‘big stick’ approach but rather a supporting mechanism for bank-consumer relations.
‘So we will have the codes of conduct that have the force of law, like I spoke to, and from time to time, we will have what we call on-site examinations and off-site examinations. So that means we will be observing the behaviour of the banks through whatever medium, the advertisements and so on, and sometimes we will go into the banks to see whether they are acting in accordance with their own policies and procedures and the codes of conduct.’
She said the Basic Bank Account, launched in the currency union, is one way the ECCB, which serves as a central bank for the ECCU member countries, is ensuring that all persons can access financial mechanisms.
‘So some time ago, I think last year, we launched in collaboration with the ECCU Bankers Association, the basic bank account. And that basic bank account is a low-risk instrument that is going to allow for more people to join the banking system, because we are aware that it is difficult; it was difficult to open a bank account for people who have one piece of ID, who may not have proof of address.
‘So that instrument allows for more people to join the financial sector and to be able to leverage the financial sector for their own developmental agenda,’ she said, adding that after all members have passed the Bill, the Office of Financial Conduct and Inclusion will be launched officially.
‘So the timing is greatly affected by passage. We hope we could see passage by the middle of this year, that is, June-July. And hopefully in the third quarter of 2026, we could see a launch of this very important initiative that is looking to protect financial consumers and provide help them with financial literacy and inclusion,’ she said on the programme.
She acknowledged that movement in previously surveyed baseline indicators will determine, among other things, the success of the Office of Financial Conduct and Inclusion in the future.
‘So the ECCB, I think, last year or the year before, we launched a financial inclusion survey. So we have some baseline indicators here to determine the level of financial inclusion within the region. And so in a couple of years, years from now, we need to see some movement there.
‘Also, this year, we plan to have a business confidence survey and a confidence survey in a market confidence survey to see how people feel about the financial sector and also a survey of financial consumer protection, how people feel about the level of consumer protection.
‘And years from now, we will reassess and determine whether the indicators in there suggest that there is improvement. But we want to see, we could say that we want to see sudden changes, such as improvements in the number of people who have basic bank accounts and in the number of people who have basic bank accounts who have since transitioned from that and who now have an ordinary bank account, a normal bank account.’ Polius said.