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THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN DOLLAR GOT THERE FIRST (int'l edition)We write to correct the assertion in ''It will be a bumpy ride'' (European Business, May 18) that no group of countries or regions has tried to issue a currency without formal political unity. As one of three multistate central banks in the world, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is the monetary authority for the six sovereign states of Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and also for the two British dependencies of Anguilla and Montserrat. Under the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement of 1983, no individual government possesses the authority to monetize its deficits through the central bank, and all participating territories are obliged to conduct prudent financial and fiscal policies. In fact, the distribution of political control among the eight member states produces a system of checks and balances of the process of money creation. Our currency, the EC dollar, has remained at a fixed rate of 2.7 to the U.S. dollar since its inception 22 years ago.
Cheryl M.A. Fletcher
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Updated June 4, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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