ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, says the five member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) involved in the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme have recorded steady increases in revenues in recent years.
Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts and Nevis have CBI programmes through which foreign investors are granted citizenship of these islands in return for making a substantial investment in their socio-economic development.
Addressing the formal handing over ceremony for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) chairmanship to Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne here, Antoine said that the CBI programmes now account for 75 cents of every non-tax dollar for participating countries.
“When we look at revenue, CIP/CBI revenue is classified as non-tax,” he said, adding that the ECCB, which serves as a central bank for the OECS countries, has been spearheading efforts to develop the legislative framework that will serve to protect these programmes and to ensure their continuity.
“Over the past few months, at the invitation of the heads of government with these programmes, the central bank has led work to establish a regional regulator to enhance credibility, integrity, and sustainability of these programmes.
“Following extensive consultation, a legal framework has now been prepared and it is now in the public domain for comment,” he told the ceremony, adding that the draft has been widely circulated, thanking the public for the feedback that has been received so far.
“We have had excellent feedback so far,” said Antoine, who will present the Report on Monetary and Credit Conditions in the ECCU when the 111th Meeting of the ECCB Monetary Council gets underway here on Friday.
Prime Minister Browne stated that the draft has been shared with the United States government, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, among others, and feedback has been received from both within the Caribbean and outside.
He also urged support for the CIP/CBI programmes, recognising their importance to the economies of all member states within the ECCU.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Browne, who is also his country’s Finance Minister, has once again expressed his displeasure with the level of service offered to customers by many of the banks operating in his country.
Browne said that the level of service from some banks has been less than satisfactory, urging these financial institutions to institute immediate corrective measures.
Browne said that service has been so consistently poor that one bank had its customers standing in the sun for hours, waiting to gain entry to conduct business.
“Not even to organize a tent for the customers; this is unacceptable!” he said, criticising those officers in the banks who seem to enjoy their status rather than be concerned about providing good service.
“Having heard the concerns of our people about poor customer service and, sometimes, mistreatment by these financial institutions, work will be accelerated on the establishment of an Office of Financial Conduct and Inclusion (OFCI) to address financial market conduct supervision.
“It’s unfortunate that in 2025, our bankers have routinely failed to offer efficient and respectable service, but have opted instead for slow, crude, and contemptuous service. I wish to make it abundantly clear that good service is good business, and we expect to see urgent realignments in the service offered by our banks.”
Prime Minister Browne stated that all competition is global and that compliance officers and others in the banking sector, who have made it extremely slow and challenging to conduct business, need to urgently realign, recognizing that they are inadvertently undermining the region’s global competitiveness and development.
“Service is love; let’s show some love and serve our people graciously and efficiently at all levels of our society,” he added.
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