Sept / Oct 2016 | Business View Caribbean

110 September 2016 - Business View Caribbean Business View Caribbean - September 2016 111 its two subsidiaries, the ECCSR and the ECCS, into a new full service Central Security Depository (CSD) is one such initiative. “Previously, we had the ownership records and the accounts of investors who traded se- curities in our markets held in a separate registry, and we had a separate central securities depository that handled the post-trade operations and the market clearances and settlements after trading.” The ECSE is also upgrading its technology. “We’re go- ing to be going live with a new trading system within the next four or five months that will bring us right to the cutting edge of the modern functionalities that exist in terms of trading securities,” Blake reports. “We’ve been around for about 15 years with the same platform, so we are basically renovating the entire sys- tem and putting in new, modern, up-to-date trading and post-trading applications so that we can continue to grow our business and do so efficiently.” Growing the ECSE’s business is on top of Blake’s agen- da. “We are looking at making the ownership of shares and financial assets a lot more of an everyday thing within the Eastern Caribbean,” he says. “We want to extend the base of investors. Right now, we are pre- occupied with the technology issues, but once we’re over that, we are going to be focusing a lot on mar- keting and education – trying to sensitize the public within our member countries to the benefits of invest- ing.” Blake also wants to expand the range of inves- tors abroad, including those members of the Eastern Caribbean Diaspora, who are presently living in the Unites States and the United Kingdom. But Blake also realizes that the ECSE needs to grow its trading volumes from the supply side, as well as from the demand side. “So, we are looking at expanding our range of products by attracting more foreign listings and by developing things like mutual funds, which, Trevor E Blake, General Manager, Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange.