Newly appointed Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy N J Antoine, engaged media practitioners throughout the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) upon his assumption of duties on 1st February, 2016.
Mr. Antoine was introduced to the media by Chairman of the ECCB Monetary Council, Hon Victor F. Banks, who stated that “Governor Antoine received the overwhelming support of the Monetary Council for his appointment. We arrived at the conclusion that Governor Antoine is well suited to lead the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union in this period”. Mr. Banks noted that the Governor’s very comprehensive vision is hopeful and he is certainly aware of the issues that have presented themselves over the years. He observed: “I sense there will be a new style of leadership, but I know that there has been a path created for the ECCB over the years. Governor Antoine is certainly aware of the direction that we want to go; the issues that we have been working on over the years; the leadership role, not only in the areas of banking regulation, but the overall management of the various economies in our region, and the task the ECCB have had to play to ensure there is stability, not only in the currency and financial sector, but also economically and socially”.
Governor Antoine succeeds longstanding Governor of the ECCB, Honourable Sir K Dwight Venner, who held the position since December 1989. “I believe that Governor Antoine is fitted to take on the responsibility. Looking back at his resume, and talking to him over the years, I believe that he has been preparing himself for this kind of leadership role”, Mr. Banks said.
During his briefing with the management and staff of the bank, Mr. Antoine reminded them that: “We are public servants. We must never take our position nor the Central Bank for granted; we are accountable to the people of this region. This is a time of enormous challenge and the Central Bank is called upon to lead the pursuit of structural transformation across the region. I recognize that the bank has done a lot of good work, but I also recognize that the times require us to do more and rise to the challenges of the day. Our cause is noble and urgent but we can only do so through collective action within the bank and across the currency union”. Governor Antoine also highlighted the need for a sense of urgency within the region on how to go about the issues of the day.
When asked about the status of Anguilla’s two indigenous banks, the Governor responded: “We are having discussions in the next week or two with the Chief Minister and his team as we continue the resolution process. The Central Bank has also been in touch with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). I expect that we will be moving forward with these matters expeditiously”.
He also commented on the assessment of the bank and its relationship with the British Government: “To the extent that we can, we would want to be as transparent as possible. I do not have the details on what has or has not been released so I do not want to comment on that without knowledge or understanding of these facts. Sometimes you have market sensitive information which cannot be released because it would actually hurt the public rather than help the public. We need to understand if that is the case here, we want to release as much information as possible. We want to be as transparent as possible. However, we have to serve the overall objective of financial stability and sometimes you to make a judgment on how best that can be achieved”. Mr. Antonie noted that two of the ECCB’s members have formal relationships with the British Government: “On some matters of necessity there will be conversations [with the British Government] but they are always through and with the governments. In other words, we will not be doing any unilateral or direct talks without the government”.
Governor Antoine noted that the new mantra that the bank will rally around has been coined STAR: service excellence; team work; accountability and results. “We have to serve excellently and it begins with us listening, including me, the Governor. We must delight in serving the region,” he said.
The newly appointed Governor committed to periodic media engagements as well as a new weekly podcast called ‘Inside ECCB’. To that end, he said: “A lot of people know of the bank but they do not know what we do. It is very important not just for transparency, but in order for us to build support across the region for our reforms and initiatives, people have to understand our role and how they can help us to be a strong institution to serve them”.
