The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) expects the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) to grow by about 7.0 percent next year as the region’s dominant tourism sector gathers momentum.
The disclosure came from ECCB Governor Timothy Antoine, who, in a Christmas Message, said that the bank would publish revised estimates at the end of January 2022.
Reflecting on the past year, Antoine spoke of several achievements for which the ECCB can be justifiably proud and mentioned three.
In this regard, Antoine disclosed that some loans had been graduated or restructured, but about 6,000 loans at $1.2 billion currently benefit from the programme.
Secondly, he noted the ECCB’s provision of $1.0 million to ensure the timely rollout of vaccination programmes in its member countries.
And thirdly, he pointed to the launch of the ECCB’s award-winning digital currency, DCash, thereby becoming the first currency union in the world to launch a digital currency.
