The ECCB in assessing the situation both domestically and internationally has identified consistent with the objectives set by the OECS Heads two major objectives which are also consistent with the purposes of the Bank as set out in Article 4 of the ECCB. These are Stability and Development. Under Stability the Bank has two goals, namely – Monetary Stability and Financial Stability.
Monetary Stability is tied to the performance of the exchange rate. We have chosen a fixed exchange rate regime, and have managed to successfully maintain this at 2.7 EC to the US dollar since July 1976. This has required us to maintain a very high level of foreign exchange reserves, presently 96% to the currency in circulation.