ECCB 2016/2017 Annual Report

ECCB ANNUAL REPORT 2016/2017

Officers from technical assistance agencies, CANEC-

DMAS, the IMF, the CARTAC and The World Bank,

along with experts active in public debt management

from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and Sweden,

conducted the training.

The officers will be assigned to the DMOs in the

participating member countries to help strengthen the

debt management functions in the respective offices.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT SECURITIES

MARKET (RGSM)

The RGSM continued to be an important source of

funding for the fivemember governments participating

in the regional market despite the decline in the

number of securities issued. As at March 2017, the

six independent governments of the ECCU had raised

a total of $10.8 billion since its establishment in

November 2002.

During the year, 49 securities were issued compared

with 55 in the preceding financial year. The value of

securities issued fell by $120.8 million (10.3 per cent)

to $1.048 billion. The decline in securities issued on

the RGSM was mainly due to lower issuance by the

Governments of Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the

Grenadines. The competitive nature of the auctions on

the RGSM contributed to a further fall in interest rates

which served to dampen the pressure on debt service

payments for the central governments. The RGSM also

served to support the implementation of the Medium

Term Debt Management Strategies (MTDS).

As the region marks the 15

anniversary of the RGSM

on November 2017, the focus will be on building on

the transparency of the market and further developing

the efficiency of the primary and secondary markets.

Chart IV - Activity on the Regional Government Securities Market for the period 2012-2017