Find Banking and Financial Services expertise in Antigua and Barbuda
- Banks
- Regulation
- Development
Banks
Antigua and Barbuda’s banking sector is the second largest in the Eastern Caribbean region, accounting for one fifth of the region’s deposits, assets, and loans. The sector is dominated by both domestic and international banks, which are principally headquartered in Canada and the Caribbean. Historically the presence of strong foreign banks in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), of which Antigua and Barbuda is a member, has been a powerful source of strength. However, the industry has been progressively changing with the entry of more assertive Caribbean banks. In total there are eight commercial banks operating competitively in Antigua and Barbuda: with the domestic examples being the Antigua and Barbuda Investment Bank, Antigua Commercial Bank, Caribbean Union Bank and Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated Bank. Financial institutions are relatively well-developed, and depositors and borrowers have access to a diversified range of financial services. Between the banking sector and the cooperative credit unions a very high proportion of the population has access to formal financial services. Antigua and Barbuda has traditionally also had an active offshore financial services sector, although this has seen a decline in numbers of banks as a result of considerable pressure since around 2000.
Regulation of Financial Services
Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), which aims to maintain the stability of the Eastern Caribbean dollar, manage monetary policy and the exchange system for its eight member countries, and facilitate their balanced growth and development. Interest rates in the currency union are set at the discretion of the commercial banks, but the ECCB regulates the minimum rate payable on savings deposits. As of the end of 2011, Antigua and Barbuda was pursuing legislative and institutional reforms aimed at strengthening the regulatory framework in regards to the non-bank financial sector. Part of this change was an enhancement of the capacity of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) to execute its mandate as the single regulatory authority for all non-bank financial institutions.
Development of Financial Services
The World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index (2011) ranked Antigua and Barbuda 98th (out of 183 countries) in the world for getting credit, a solid regional position placing it in an equivalent situation to St Lucia, Grenada and Jamaica. With respects to protecting investors it placed highly at 29th in the world alongside regional counterparts St Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Kitts and Nevis.
Banking and Financial Services organisations in Antigua and Barbuda | |
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ABI Group |
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ABI Investment Bank |
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Alexander & Associates, Accountant |
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American Pacific Trading |
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Caribbean American Bank |
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Commonwealth Secretariat |
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ECCB |
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First Caribbean International Bank Ltd |
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Stanford Financial Group |
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