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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.