The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank published remarks by Governor Timothy N.J. Antoine from the 2025 Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, setting out priorities for mobilising financial resources to meet the development needs of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. In a roundtable on domestic resource mobilisation, Antoine highlighted the need for local capacity building in high-impact areas including physical and digital infrastructure, trade logistics and energy security, with a focus on closing policy and regulatory gaps that deter private capital. He also called on multilateral development banks to deploy credit guarantees more creatively, arguing they are not sufficiently reaching low-income countries and small island developing states, and pointed to catastrophe risk pools as a proven model, citing the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (now CCRIF SPC) launched in 2007 after Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and noting it has inspired similar facilities in Africa, the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank 2025-05-02
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Governor urges capacity building, broader credit guarantees and catastrophe risk pools at 2025 Spring Meetings
Governor Timothy N.J. Antoine of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank emphasized mobilizing financial resources for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union's development needs during the 2025 Spring Meetings. He advocated for local capacity building in infrastructure, trade logistics, and energy security, urging multilateral development banks to enhance credit guarantees for low-income countries and small island states. Antoine highlighted catastrophe risk pools, like the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, as effective risk management models.