ECCB and Partners Place Financial Resilience and Investing at Heart of Financial Information Month Festival 2025
Remarks by Deputy Governor, ECCB - Dr Valda F Henry
3 October 2025, Basseterre, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis – The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) officially launched Financial Information Month (FIM) Festival 2025 on 30 September with a regional media event that brought together banking partners, students, educators, government representatives, and media practitioners from across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).
The event marked the start of a month-long calendar of activities in October, designed to strengthen communities and empower citizens to move from being Savers to Investors: the focus of this year’s FIM Festival.
Deputy Governor, Dr Valda F. Henry delivered the opening remarks, grounding her message in the ECCB’s core mission. “With the ECCB’s Mission Statement—‘Advancing the good of the people of the currency union by maintaining monetary and financial stability and promoting growth and development’—at the heart of everything we do, we have worked to make access to banking simpler and more inclusive,” she said.
The Deputy Governor highlighted key initiatives such as the First Step Savings Account, designed to bring more citizens into the formal banking system, and the launch of the Regional Government Securities Market (RGSM) Retail Bond Initiative, which she said would ensure that even more people in the ECCU can move from being Savers to Investors.
The launch, chaired by Director of the Corporate Relations Department, Shermalon Kirby, also featured presentations from regional and sectoral partners, including:
- Corporate Communications Officer, Ministry of Finance, Grenada - Dwight Sampson, who presented on Wealth Creation;
- Communications Officer, Shana Derrick (affectionately known as Aunty Shana from the popular ECCB Children’s Connection Radio Programme), who delivered the monologue “Me Want to Grow My Wealth”;
- Fiscal and Debt Specialist, Research, Statistics and Data Analytics Department, Juletta Edinborough - presentation on the ECCU Retail Bond Initiative;
- Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange Business Development Executive, Youlouca Armony-Browne, highlighting the 3rd Annual Regional Schools Investment Competition, with reflections from 2024 champions, the Adelphi Secondary School of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and
- Representatives from FIM Partnering institutions, who presented their respective 2025 Calendar of Activities.
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Presentation on Wealth Creation by Corporate Communications Officer, Ministry Finance, Grenada - Dwight Sampson - View
𝐀𝐡 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡! Corporate Relations Officer (Acting) - Shana Derrick - View
About FIM Festival
Launched in 2002 as Financial Literacy Month, the initiative later evolved into today’s Financial Information Month Festival—a vibrant regional campaign that fosters resilience, inclusion, and informed financial decision-making. Now in its 23rd year, the Festival continues to serve as a catalyst for stronger families, empowered young people, and resilient communities across the ECCU. The FIM Festival 2025 brings together 115 institutional partners from across the eight ECCB member countries.
About the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) was established in October 1983. The ECCB is the Monetary Authority for: Anguilla,
Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat,
Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Media Contact: Shermalon Kirby, Director, Corporate Relations Department
Phone: (869) 465-2537 | Mobile: (869) 662-2561
E-mail: info@eccb-centralbank.org
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