Eastern Caribbean Central Bank launches consultations on establishing the Office of Financial Conduct and Inclusion and the Eastern Caribbean Financial Standards Board

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank has opened consultations across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union on creating two new bodies, the Office of Financial Conduct and Inclusion (OFCI) and the Eastern Caribbean Financial Standards Board (ECFSB). The initiative is intended to strengthen financial consumer protection and market conduct oversight and to develop regional regulatory standards. The OFCI would regulate financial consumer protection and business conduct for financial institutions licensed under the Banking Act, including requirements for timely and clear public information, prohibitions on misleading conduct and unsubstantiated claims, a channel for customer complaints against commercial banks, and responses to emerging consumer protection issues such as cybersecurity and data protection. Its remit would also include supporting fair access to financial services and improving financial literacy. The ECFSB would be established to create regulatory standards covering insurance and pensions (onshore and offshore), deposit-taking non-bank financial institutions such as credit unions, development banks and building societies, AML/CFT and money services businesses alongside consumer protection and market conduct, and offshore banks, trusts and mutual funds. Consultations are scheduled to begin on 7 February and run through to June 2025, with the ECCB inviting a broad range of stakeholders to participate.