Indigenous banks and CBI discussed at OECS meeting

The OECS Heads of Government at their Special Meeting in Guadeloupe last week received an update from the Governor of the St Kitts-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, on the status of the Bank’s initiative to bring indigenous (national) banks together in respect of shared services for risk and compliance.

An OECS communique said Governor Antione further called for a consolidation of arrangements with respect to the sub region’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programmes noting the need for harmonisation of the due diligence arrangements, agreement to common standards and common application protocols, and the sharing of information across countries and with the Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC).

The OECS Heads fully endorsed these initiatives and mandated the OECS Commission and the ECCB to coordinate regional collaboration with the Association of CIP/CBI Heads of Unit and the JRCC. Heads also agreed to identify a priority list of interventions for deeper functional cooperation and sourcing of common services by the OECS/ECCB consultative body.

The Heads of Government also welcomed a report from Saint Martin on the status of the island’s recovery and agreed that accession discussions should remain on hold as the nation continues with the rebuilding process post Hurricane Irma.

It was also agreed that the 67th Meeting of the Authority would be held on June 18-19, 2019 in Antigua and Barbuda.