BASSETERRE, St Kitts – The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has published its 2025–2026 Annual Report, highlighting the resilience of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) amid a year of heightened global uncertainty and outlining an ambitious roadmap for transforming the region’s economy over the next decade.
The Annual Report details the ECCU’s performance during a year marked by global uncertainty, highlighting continued stability and economic growth. It notes that the ECCU economy recorded estimated growth of 2.5 percent in 2025, supported by continued strength in tourism and infrastructure investment. Inflation moderated during the latter part of the year, while the region’s financial system remained stable and resilient.
Throughout the financial year, the ECCB remained steadfast in executing its core mandates of maintaining monetary and financial stability. The EC dollar continued to demonstrate its strength and credibility, maintaining its long-standing fixed exchange rate of EC$2.70 to USD1.00. Foreign reserves increased from $5.5 billion to $6.0 billion as at
31 March 2026, supported by a robust backing ratio of 97.2 percent. The bank also delivered another year of strong financial performance, recording a profit of $121.6 million.
The Annual Report highlights several significant achievements aimed at expanding financial inclusion and strengthening the region’s financial architecture. Among these was the launch of the ECCU First Step Savings Account in all eight member countries, providing citizens with an accessible entry point into the formal financial system. Progress was also made in strengthening the region’s credit infrastructure, with EveryData ECCU beginning to receive information from participating institutions—an important step toward improving credit access, strengthening underwriting practices, and supporting private-sector growth.
The bank also advanced critical reforms to enhance the regulation and supervision of non-bank financial institutions through continued work toward establishing the Office of Financial Conduct and the Eastern Caribbean Financial Standards Board.
While celebrating these accomplishments, the Report emphasises that preserving stability, though essential, is only the foundation for future prosperity.
Highlighted in the publication is the ECCB 2026–2031 Strategic Plan produced under the theme: The Big Push: Collective Action for Shared Prosperity in the ECCU. The strategy seeks to answer a transformative question: What would it take to double the size of the ECCU economy over the next decade.
The Big Push presents a comprehensive framework for advancing financial stability, fiscal sustainability, economic diversification, resilience, innovation, competitiveness, and shared prosperity. It envisions a future in which the ECCU’s eight member countries become more resilient, inclusive, sustainable, and globally competitive, recognising the need to adapt to a rapidly changing global environment.
The Strategic Plan calls for diversification both within and beyond tourism, leveraging opportunities in the digital, green, blue, and orange economies. It also underscores the importance of regional collaboration among governments, businesses, development partners, financial institutions, and citizens.
To support this transformation, the ECCB Monetary Council has endorsed seven strategic theatres for regional action:
- Food and nutrition security;
- Energy security;
- Connectivity and logistics;
- Financial deepening and wealth creation;
- Human capital development;
- Digital transformation;
- Tourism 2.0.
The Annual Report further highlights flagship initiatives already under development, including the Regional Renewable Energy Infrastructure Investment Facility (REIIF), which is being advanced in partnership with member governments, the World Bank, and other stakeholders.
The publication comes as the ECCU prepares to commemorate a historic milestone. On 7 July 2026, the ECCB will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the EC dollar’s peg to the United States dollar—five decades of monetary stability, institutional credibility, and prudent stewardship that have served as the bedrock of economic confidence across the Currency Union.
Reflecting on the year and the path ahead, the Annual Report expresses confidence in the region’s ability to meet future challenges through courage, innovation, discipline, and collective action.
“The journey ahead will require courage, discipline, innovation, and collective action. Yet I remain deeply optimistic about the future of our Currency Union,” said ECCB Governor, Timothy N.J. Antoine.
The ECCB 2025 – 2026 Annual Report is available here.
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