St. Kitts and Nevis accounts for nearly a quarter of deposits in ECCU

Basseterre, St. Kitts (CUOPM) — Residents in St. Kitts and Nevis accounted for nearly a quarter of the banking deposits in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).

The disclosure has come from St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas.

“On the financial side of the economy, the banking system remains stable with key liquidity and profitability indicators exceeding the EasternCaribbean Currency Union (ECCU) regulatory benchmarks. As at the end of June 2014, total residents’ deposits increased to approximately EC$4 billion, which is equivalent to about 23 percent of residents’ deposits in the overall ECCU. In other words, residents in our tiny Federation owns nearly a quarter of all bank deposits in the ECCU, which has as its members 6 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,” said Prime Minister Douglas at the 17thAnnual National Consultation on the Economy.

He told stakeholders however that credit conditions remained subdued as in all OECS countries, as credit to the private sector declined and banks appear to take a stance of risk aversion.

“As the economy improves, it is expected that this trend will soon be reversed and businesses will benefit from the strong liquidity situation in the banking system. Indeed, we will use every vehicle available to us ensure that our people and their enterprises are afforded easier access to credit,” said Dr. Douglas.

Independent nations in the ECCU are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Kitts and Nevis.

The two British territories in the ECCU are Anguilla and Montserrat