Banking system

Two commercial banks are presently operating in Montserrat, providing domestic and International Banking services. These banks are The Royal Bank of Canada and an indigenous bank, The Bank of Montserrat.

Central bank

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, based in the neighboring island of St. Kitts, acts as central bank for its members listed in Table Vll.

Vll-Members of Eastern Caribbean Central Bank

Antigua and Barbuda      Montserrat  

Anguilla                         St. Kitts and Nevis

Dominica                       St. Lucia

Grenada                        St. Vincent       

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank manages the fiduciary issue and monitors the commercial banks' reserves. The territories share a single

currency, the Eastern Caribbean dollar (EC$). Exchange controls are enforced by the individual islands' ministries of finance.

Specialized financial institutions

There are no leasing or factoring institutions.                     

Securities market                                                                                                         

Montserrat is part of the Eastern Caribbean Stock Exchange

Specialized financial markets

The commercial banks can arrange forward purchases and sales of  foreign currency, but there is only a small amount of activity, since the Eastern Caribbean dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar at US$1 = EC$2.70 and the United States is the principal foreign trading partner. There is no financial futures market and no commodities market.

Offshore financial services 

There are offshore banking facilities, but there has been no activity for the past few years in regard to the incorporation of new banks.  Montserrat  an overseas territory is in the process of updating its legislation to meet international conformity.