1.1 The national banks licensed by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) under the Banking Act, 2015 have been in discussion regarding the consolidation of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) national banking sector. The consensus of the discussions is that consolidation of the sector be pursued over a period of time and that an initial step ought to be taken in the form of a shared services approach.

1.2 Via correspondence to all 12 licensed national banks, the ECCB explicitly sought and received the support of the national banks to facilitate their exploration of a shared service for the risk and compliance function. All of the national banks have officially welcomed the ECCB’s offer to support the initiative.

1.3 Given its commitment to support the national banks with this important initiative and its own objective of ensuring the continued stability of the ECCU financial sector, the ECCB is issuing this request for proposal (RFP) to seek a suitable partner with the requisite experience and resources to help the national banks with establishing a shared risk and compliance function.

1.4 The applications in response to the RFP will be evaluated by representatives of the ECCB and national banks, particularly concerning the applicant’s: a. proposed strategy/model for ensuring the timely establishment of an effective and efficient shared risk and compliance function; b. technical expertise; c. experience in this type of business; d. financial capacity; e. data protection capabilities; f. monitoring procedures; and g. good standing within the financial services industry.

1.5 The ECCB reserves the right to accept or reject any application/proposal submitted in response to this RFP without the need to provide a detailed explanation. 2 1.6 The short-listed applicants will be invited to make a presentation to the national banks and the ECCB, and the successful applicant will be required to negotiate a contract for delivery of a shared risk and compliance function