Deposit Guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands

It is a regulatory scheme that guarantees bank balances from 1 cent up to a maximum of $25,000. We activate the scheme if a bank fails. It covers banks licensed to operate in the Caribbean Netherlands. The register of licensed banks is always up to date. 

Nothing. You do not need to register or sign up for the deposit guarantee, which is a free scheme. 

You can check this on the Which banks? page. If in doubt, ask your own bank whether your money is protected by the deposit guarantee. The  register of banks licensed for the Caribbean Netherlands is always up to date.  

De Nederlandsche Bank administers the deposit guarantee. 

The deposit guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands automatically protects the money of account holders at a bank with a branch in the Caribbean Netherlands, regardless of the account holder's place of residence and domicile, subject to a few exceptions. 

Yes, the protection also applies to corporate bank accounts, subject to a few exceptions.

Yes, the it also covers underage children, as it applies per person per bank, irrespective of age.

The deposit guarantee guarantees deposits – that is, amounts in payment and savings accounts and time deposits – with banks that are covered by the deposit guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands.

The deposit guarantee applies from 1 cent up to a maximum amount of $25,000 per person, per bank, irrespective of the number of accounts you hold. Any accrued interest is compensated until the day of the bank's bankruptcy. 

If your account is not only in your name but also in someone else's name – such a joint account – you will in most cases be reimbursed a proportionate share each. 

Example: If the amount in your joint account is $50,000, you will both receive $25,000. If you have more than one account at a bank, the maximum amount of $25,000 applies to the sum of the balances in your accounts at that bank. 

We check the bankrupt bank's accounting records to see whether a bank account is covered by the deposit guarantee. We use the exchange rate of the day on which we activated the deposit guarantee for the bank.

We do not deduct a debt you owe to the bank from the compensation you receive. 

Suppose you have a personal loan of $5,000 and a savings deposit of $10,000. If your bank goes bankrupt, you will be reimbursed $10,000. You can ask the liquidator what will happen to your debt of $5,000. 

Based on the maximum amount of $25,000, around 90% of account holders will get all of their money back. This is comparable to what applies to the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This means that the guarantee complies with the international standards prescribed by the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI). 

The guarantee applies per person, per bank. You might consider spreading your money over several banks if you have more than $25,000. 

After we activate the deposit guarantee for the failed bank's customers, we will publish this in the local press, on our website and in the Government Gazette (Staatscourant). For more information, please also read the answer to the question How will I get compensation? 

1. If a bank can no longer repay the money in customers' accounts, even in the foreseeable future. From that moment, we have 21 days to decide whether to activate the deposit guarantee. 
2. After a court ruling preventing customers from accessing their bank accounts. The bankruptcy of a bank is an example of such a ruling. 

After we activate the deposit guarantee, we will publish this in the local press, on our website and in the Government Gazette (Staatscourant), telling you how to claim your compensation. In most cases we will open an office on the islands where the failed bank operates. You can visit this office to ask questions and claim your compensation (in Papiamentu, Dutch and English). 

After we have activated the Deposit Guarantee, you have one year to submit your claim. After one year, we will handle your claim only if you can prove that the delay was not your fault. 

Once we have received your claim, we will check: 

• whether you have one or more accounts with the failed bank
• whether the account is/the accounts are covered by the deposit guarantee 
• the amount(s) in the account(s) 

We first consult the failed bank's records. If we cannot find out whether you have an account, we will ask you for additional information.

As soon as possible, but in any case within 20 business days of the date of your claim. 

If you have a joint account, you will in most cases be reimbursed a proportional part each, and you must each claim your compensation. 

The decision we take is governed by the Administrative Justice (BES Islands) Act (Wet administratieve rechtspraak BES). If you disagree with our decision, there are several things you can do. 

• You can object to our decision by submitting a notice of objection to us. If you disagree with our decision on your objection, you can appeal to the Court of First Instance. Submitting a notice of objection is not obligatory, you can also appeal directly to the Court of First Instance. 
• You can appeal to the Court of First Instance of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. 
• You can appeal the Court of First Instance's decision to the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. 

Coverage under the deposit guarantee is free of charge for bank customers. The total compensation amount will eventually be charged to the other banks protected under the deposit guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands. For this purpose, a fund will be set up from 1 January 2025 into which relevant banks will pay an annual contribution. The target size of the deposit guarantee fund is 5% of the deposit bases of banks covered by the deposit guarantee scheme. To ensure that the customers of a failed bank can be compensated without delay, and in case the fund has not yet reached its target size, the Dutch government pre-finances these payouts. 

Do you have a specific question for DNB about the protection offered by the deposit guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands? Feel free to contact us (in Dutch or English). Just call us at +31 20 524 9111 on business days between 9:00 and 17:00 (Dutch time). Or email us at info@dnb.nl.