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2018 Annual Economic and Financial Review
GRENADA
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Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
time deposits, resulting in the overall
expansion in quasi money.
The net foreign assets of the banking system
grew by 24.8 per cent to $1,315.0m at the
end of December 2018, accelerating from
the pace of 5.0 per cent recorded in the
corresponding period of 2017.
This
acceleration was largely attributable the
transactions of commercial banks as their net
foreign assets rose by 31.2 per cent to
$691.8m. Commercial banks boosted their
net foreign asset position with financial
institutions outside the Currency Union by
86.2 per cent, while reducing their net foreign
asset position with financial institutions in
other ECCU territories by 14.4 per cent.
Grenada’s imputed share of the ECCB’s
reserves amounted to $623.2m, approximately
18.5 per cent above the level recorded at the
end of 2017.
Domestic credit declined by a further
8.7 per cent to $1,101.8m a steeper
contraction from the rate of 2.8 per cent
recorded at the end of 2017.
This outturn
was led by the changing leverage position of
the central government and Non-Financial
Public Enterprises. The government’s net
deposit position rose by 66.9 per cent to
$201.3m. This was attributed to a more than
doubling of deposits at the Central Bank
coupled with a 30.3 per cent reduction in
commercial bank credit. Furthermore, the net
deposit position of the Non-Financial Public
Enterprises increased by 35.9 per cent to
$298.9m as growth in deposits far outpaced
the surge in loans by $67.7m. Private sector
credit grew at an accelerated rate of
2.8 per cent after increasing at a marginal rate
of 0.6 per cent during 2017. There was growth
in credit extended to households
(1.7 per cent), businesses (4.9 per cent), and
non-bank financial institutions (6.8 per cent).
Credit outstanding by economic sector, grew
by 4.1 per cent to $1,701.8m during 2018
from $1,634.9m in 2017. The bulk of that
expansion originated from outstanding credit
to tourism (23.2 per cent), construction
(6.4 per cent) and personal (1.1 per cent). The
increase in outstanding loans for personal use,
the largest component of credit, was on
account of an expansion in credit for durable
consumer goods (17.7 per cent) and other
personal loans (1.1 per cent) while credit fell
for the acquisition of property (0.4 per cent).
Contractions in outstanding credit were
registered in all other economic sectors of
transportation and storage (47.9 per cent);