Central Bank of Barbados

The Central Bank of Barbados (C.B.B.) is the national monetary authority responsible for providing advice to government of Barbados on banking and other financial and monetary matters. The Central Bank of Barbados, was established by Act of parliament on 2 May 1972. Prior to the establishment of C.B.B., Barbados' monetary policies were governed through its membership in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority (ECCA). The Central Bank operates as the banknote issuing authority for Barbadian currency.

The name of the Central Bank's building is the Tom Adams Financial Centre, which is a eight-storey building located on Spry Street in Bridgetown. As part of the complex, the ground floor holds the 491-seat theatre/auditorium known as the Frank Collymore Hall. The building was constructed between 1982-83

The Global Competitiveness Report for 2008-2009 ranked the soundness of Barbados's commercial banks as 21st out of 134 global jurisdictions assessed.

Role

At its inception the Central Bank of Barbados had certain objectives.

These were:

• Promoting monetary stability
• Promoting a sound financial structure
• Fostering development of the money and capital markets
• Channelling commercial bank credit into productive activities
• Fostering credit and exchange conditions conducive to the orderly and sustained economic development of Barbados.

Today the regulatory capacity of the central bank...
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