 fellow citizens and residents of the ECCU, greetings from your Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. I greet you on the launch of FIM Festival 2022, commonly known as Financial Information Month. Our focus this year is wealth creation. Why? Because it is a pathway to personal financial resilience. Every October for the past 20 years, we've celebrated Financial Information Month. And for the past four years, our theme has been financial empowerment through education. Our philosophy for this celebration has been inspired by the words of Nobel laureate Sir Arthur Lewis when he declared, and I quote, the cure for poverty is not riches, but knowledge end of quote. Over the past two decades, the ECCB and its partners have trained hundreds of citizens and residents through the delivery of savings and investment courses, as well as seminars on a wide range of topics, including access to credit, insurance, retirement, small business development, and taking your business online during a pandemic. Investopedia defines financial literacy as the ability to understand certain financial issues and to use financial skills for personal financial management, such as budgeting and investing. Now, according to the Standard and Poor's Global Financial Literacy Survey, only one in three persons globally is financially literate. One in three. That means two in three persons are not financially literate. What is the level of financial literacy in the ECCU? Well, we will soon know that our central bank has commissioned a financial literacy and inclusion survey with support from the World Bank. Please participate in this survey and stay tuned for the results. As we embark on the next decade of FIM Festival, we are shifting our strategy from financial literacy and empowerment to financial wellness and resilience. Financial resilience is the capacity to absorb and bounce forward, not back, from a shock, such as a health event, job loss, economic downturn, natural disaster, or even a pandemic. Let's face it, there are persons in the ECCU who have experienced all of these shocks during the past five years. We believe this new thrust accompanied by some new programs could be of significant benefit to the people of the ECCU. As intimated earlier, our focus this year is wealth creation. Consequently, several areas will be explored, including entrepreneurship, investment in securities, and cryptocurrencies. Now, the benefits of entrepreneurship go well beyond businesses and their owners. Entrepreneurship is often the foundation for intergenerational wealth and a drive-up innovation and job creation. Our region needs more entrepreneurs. We want to see more of our youth pursue and fulfill their dreams to own businesses and create their own jobs. Now, one of the biggest impediments to their aspirations is lack of access to credit or finance. As a consequence, we launched the Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee in October 2020. Under this program, qualifying loans of up to $750,000 issued by participating financial institutions receive a 75% guarantee, thereby making credit more accessible to entrepreneurs and small businesses. I encourage you to ask your financial institution about this program. You can find a list of participating financial institutions at ecpcgc.org. I repeat, ecpcgc.org. I hope in time, with the support of the UK government, the people of Anguilla and Montserrat will also be able to participate in this program. Savings of parties in the ECCU continue to grow and now exceed $25 billion. In the United States, one in two persons are invested in the US stock market. However, in the ECCU, only one in 25 persons, yes, you heard me right, one in 25 persons are invested in the Eastern Caribbean securities market. This participation is woefully low and speaks to an untapped opportunity. We need savers in the ECCU to start taking advantage of opportunities to invest through the ECSC. Furthermore, in a time of rising inflation, as we have now, invested could have maintained real disposable income. Bottom line, more persons need to invest in securities. For those who wish to get started, please check out the ECSC website at ecsonline.com and the ECHMB website at echmb.com. It is a fact that more persons are taking their chances and are investing in cryptocurrencies. What do you know about cryptos? What should you know if you choose to invest? The risk and benefits of cryptocurrencies will be explored during FIM Festival 2022. In conclusion, I hear all our partners, past and present, for their contribution to FIM over the past 20 years. They include financial institutions such as banks, credit unions, insurers, and civic-minded citizens who share vision for financial empowerment. I invite all our partners to align their strategies to help boost wealth creation for the people of the ECCU. I now invite you, yes, you, to be part of FIM Festival 2022 as we shine a light on wealth creation and help empower ECCU citizens and residents to greater financial wellness, resilience, and prosperity. Now here's a look at what's happening in your country for FIM Festival 2022. I thank you.