Fit and proper assessments in the Caribbean Netherlands

DNB supervises financial institutions and ensures that their operations are sound and ethical, and that they fulfil their obligations. Fit and proper assessments are an important part of this aim. Fit and proper management and supervisory board members are essential to an institution’s strategy and corporate culture, and therefore to its soundness and future viability.

Contact

You can contact your account supervisor or DNB’s Expert Centre on Fit & Proper Assessments at +31 20 524 9111 or at toetsing.expertisecentrum@DNB.nl if you have any questions regarding these assessments.

Concurrence of assessments conducted by DNB and the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS)

In the case of branches and cross-border services provided by credit institutions, electronic money institutions and money transfer offices with their registered office in Curaçao or Sint Maarten, management and supervisory board members are subject to assessment by both CBCS and DNB. DNB’s assessment focuses on integrity. CBCS is responsible for prudential supervision. Both supervisory authorities must reach a positive assessment before the appointee may take up the intended position. The assessments by CBCS and DNB are conducted concurrently.

More information about DNB’s role as a supervisory authority in the Caribbean Netherlands can be found here.

Who is assessed?

The following persons are subject to our fit and proper assessments (positions requiring assessment):

• Day-to-day policymakers and co-policymakers, including as a minimum the directors, of a financial institution having its registered office or a branch office in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba (the public bodies)

• Members of a supervisory body, such as a supervisory board or council of a financial institution having its registered office or a branch office in the public bodies

• Day-to-day policymakers and co-policymakers of a qualifying holding in a financial institution having its registered office in the public bodies

• Branch office managers of a financial institution having a branch office in the public bodies

When does assessment take place?

Initial assessment

DNB carries out an initial assessment in the event of a licence application or registration, and in the event of the proposed appointment of a new individual to a position subject to assessment at a supervised financial institution.

An assessment is also carried out when the remit of a position changes. In such cases, this generally concerns only a fitness assessment.

A person may only be appointed following a favourable decision from DNB.

If the individual is also subject to assessment by CBCS, the appointment may only take place following a favourable decision from both CBCS and DNB. The individuals mentioned above may not be appointed without the prior consent of the supervisory authority or authorities.

Reassessment

A change in relevant facts or circumstances may give us reasonable cause to reassess the fitness or propriety, or both, of a previously assessed appointee. We then conduct a reassessment.

Fees

We charge a fee for processing fit and proper assessments. The fee is payable from the moment an application for assessment is submitted. The fee is also payable if an application is withdrawn or if it proves incomplete and is not completed before the deadline. The fee for processing fit and proper assessments is set out in the BES Financial Markets Regulations 2012 (Regeling financiële markten BES 2012 – Rfm BES)

Decision period

Within eight weeks of receiving an assessment application, we must make a decision on the assessment. If we have not received all the information we need, we can suspend this deadline. Assessment interviews also result in deadline suspension. If needed, we can suspend our decision period for a longer period in mutual agreement with the institution and the appointee. We confirm such an agreement to the institution in writing.

Propriety

We verify whether the propriety of the appointee is beyond doubt, which involves ensuring their intentions, actions or antecedents do not stand in the way of fulfilling the intended position.

In principle, propriety is assessed only once. An appointee in respect of whom DNB has previously issued a positive integrity assessment is therefore, in principle, not subject to a further propriety assessment. This is not the case where new relevant facts or circumstances give reasonable grounds to reassess propriety.

A propriety assessment focuses exclusively on the appointee. This means that – unlike fitness assessments – it does not depend on the composition of the management board or the type of institution that the proposed appointment pertains to, nor on the specific position the appointee will hold.

We base our assessment on the information provided by the institution and the appointee, as well as on our own preliminary assessment. In doing so, we take into account relevant intentions, actions – both acts and omissions – and antecedents. The relevant criteria are detailed in the Pensions Act (BES) Regulation (for pension funds) and the Financial Markets (BES) Decree (for other financial institutions). We also assess whether there is, or could be, a conflict of interest, for example if the appointee is a politically exposed person (PEP) at local level.

Propriety is an ongoing requirement. If, following the assessment, new facts or circumstances arise that could affect propriety, both the appointee and the institution must report these to DNB immediately. We will then assess whether there are grounds to reconsider the previous decision and carry out a reassessment.

Failure to report relevant facts or circumstances (or failure to do so in a timely manner) may be flagged as a supervisory antecedent and will be taken very seriously when assessing propriety. If in doubt, the rule of thumb is: it is better to report relevant facts or circumstances too often than not often enough. Full disclosure may be taken into account as a mitigating factor. You can contact your account supervisor or DNB’s Expert Centre on Fit & Proper Assessments at  toetsing.expertisecentrum@dnb.nl with any questions.

Fitness

When assessing fitness, we determine whether an appointee has sufficient relevant knowledge and skills, and displays the required professional behaviour to perform the job, based, as a minimum, on their education, work experience and competences.

As a fitness assessment is position-specific, the assessment takes into account (i) the specific position, (ii) the institution’s type, size, complexity and risk profile and – if a position on the board is involved – (iii) the composition and functioning of the board as a whole. At the time of the assessment, the appointee must be knowledgeable of the relevant legislation and regulations, such as the Wwft BES, the Wfm BES and the Sanctions Act 1977. Please refer to the explanatory notes under the heading ‘Knowledge of the relevant legislation and regulations’.

The appointee should be fit for the position as at the date of appointment, meaning they must be familiar the institution's products, operational organisation and culture prior to the assessment. To this end, they may study public and internal policy documents and consult with members of the management and supervisory boards and/or supervisory council. This provides an appointee with an understanding of relevant trends and market developments, legal and regulatory requirements, the main challenges and bottlenecks for the organisation and possible issues at play. If necessary, the institution can ask the appointee to sign a confidentiality agreement to allow them to prepare adequately for the intended position.

A fitness assessment comprises the following topics:

• Management, organisation and communication

• Products, services and markets in which the institution operates

• Sound and ethical operational management

• Balanced and consistent decision-making

• Sufficient time

Each appointee is also assessed in terms of competences. The Policy Rule on Suitability 2012 lists 18 competences, including independence, persuasiveness, ability to cooperate, decisiveness and helicopter view and judgement. Different competences are important for each position, so an appointee does not have to have all the competences. The list in the Policy Rule is not exhaustive.

How to submit an application for assessment

Applications for fit and proper assessments must be submitted digitally via the MyDNB portal. The portal is efficient and user-friendly. All information and documents we need to assess applications can be uploaded there using the digital application form. We will also use the MyDNB portal to send information requests and decisions to institutions.

Access to MyDNB

We will grant one representative of each institution authorised access to MyDNB using a login name and password. The link we provide will allow them to access the application form for the fit and proper assessment. 

Documents to be submitted

Well begun is half done. Please provide all requested information and attachments in full so that we can process the application as quickly as possible. Always use the most up-to-date forms and templates provided by DNB. If annexes are missing, processing will take longer.

Copy of valid passport or ID card (not a driving licence)

Include a legible photocopy of the appointee’s valid passport or identity card as part of the application. In the case of an identity card, both sides must be submitted. Please note that a copy of a driving licence will not be accepted. DNB uses the copy to verify the personal data required to check judicial information. The identity document must still be valid on the start date of the appointee’s new position.

Current CV

The appointee’s CV must be complete and up to date. In any case, please include details of the appointee’s education and relevant courses, work experience, duties and responsibilities, the number of staff for whom the appointee is or was responsible, any additional roles with the average time spent on them each week or month, and the appointee’s relevant competences. You can use the most up-to-date standard template (available from DNB) for this purpose. Download the template, complete it in full and upload it as an annex to your assessment application in MyDNB.

Job profile

The job profile must address at least:

• Fields of expertise

• Duties and responsibilities

• Expected time commitment

• Required competences

• Requirements in terms of education and experience

Description of the recruitment and selection procedure

Please provide a description of the recruitment and selection procedure that was followed to recruit and select the appointee. Rather than attaching a standard procedure document, we would ask you to elaborate on the actual procedure followed.

Description of decision-making and appointment considerations

Please provide a description of the decision-making process preceding your selection of the appointee, including your considerations as to why the appointee meets the job profile. If relevant, describe the measures taken to counter any actual or perceived conflicts of interest. 

Suitability matrix

The suitability matrix and accompanying notes provide insight into the appointee's expertise and capabilities and of those of the other board members. The composition of the board as a whole also plays a role in assessing an individual’s fitness.

Use the suitability matrix appropriate to the sector and the body in question. The most up-to-date templates are available on the ‘Forms and Templates’ page. Download the relevant template, complete the matrix in full and upload it, together with the accompanying explanatory notes, as an annex to your assessment application in MyDNB.

To properly assess the matrix, we need the following:

• A description of how the matrix was completed,
  e.g. how the scores were calculated, who awarded the scores, whether they were discussed within the board as a whole, and whether the appointee has seen the completed matrix.

• Answers to the following questions:

  1. On which points does the board as a whole score best and worst, in your opinion, and why?

  2. How will these weaker points be compensated?

  3. What is the added value of the appointee with respect to the other members?

Time commitment

Please also provide an indication of the appointee's actual time commitment. Please state the average weekly or monthly time commitment for each of the secondary positions stated in the appointee's CV. You may also prepare a separate document for this purpose.

Notes on preparations for the position

A description of how the appointee has prepared for the position may help us form a comprehensive picture of their fitness. Examples of the appointee's activities include reading relevant documents, holding meetings or discussions with others within the organisation, attending meetings as an observer or participating in internal or external training programmes.

Knowledge of relevant laws and regulations

In order to gain a comprehensive picture of the appointee’s knowledge of the Wwft BES, WFM BES and the Sanctions Act 1977, we would like to receive certificates from any courses, training programmes and seminars attended, or other documentation demonstrating that the appointee has at least a basic understanding of the following topics: 

Wwft BES

• Customer due diligence: customer onboarding, including customer identification and verification; understanding the customer’s and the UBO’s ownership and control structure; the concepts of CDD, KYC, PEP and UBO; the various forms of customer due diligence, including simplified and enhanced customer due diligence; risk appetite; and the customer’s risk classification.

• Transaction monitoring: pre- and post-event transaction monitoring; the concept of an intended transaction; the transaction profile; objective and subjective indicators; and the obligation to report to FIU-NL.

• Customer review: the frequency with which the customer file is updated, the components of the review and the follow-up on its findings.

Sanctions legislation

• The Sanctions Act 1977 and the National Terrorism Sanctions List.

• Sanctions screening of names and transactions.

• The duty to report.

General matters

• The gatekeeper role of the financial institution.

• The difference between supervision by CBCS and DNB.

• The SIRA: the systematic integrity risk analysis, as referred to in Section 3:7(1) of the BES Financial Markets Decree.

Signatory statement

To ensure the application form is legally valid, please upload a fully completed Signatory statement. Please use the most up-to-date DNB template and upload the statement as an annex to your application in MyDNB.

Reference information

Please list at least two referees on the application form and provide each referee’s name, position and contact details. Please inform the referees in advance that DNB may contact them. We will not necessarily contact all referees.

Additional documents

You can add more documents if you believe they will provide us with a more comprehensive picture of the appointee or the position. Examples include a training or induction programme, assessment outcomes and management development assessments.

The assessment procedure step by step

Receipt of application

The assessment procedure starts once we have received your application. We will send you an acknowledgement of receipt through the MyDNB portal. If the application is incomplete, we will ask you to supplement it by uploading the missing information via MyDNB. The decision period will then be suspended until we have received the requested information. 

Preliminary assessment

Once the file is complete, our Expert Centre on Fit & Proper Assessments performs a preliminary assessment. This includes consulting both public and non-public sources, including the tax authorities, the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD), the Public Prosecution Service (OM) and the Chamber of Commerce (KvK). In addition, we may source information from national and international financial supervisory authorities and criminal law authorities, and check references. As we do not always contact referees to check references, we would advise you to inform your referees beforehand that we might not contact them. Furthermore, we use information on circumstances and challenges facing the institution that we gather from our ongoing supervision practices.

Assessment interview

If the picture emerging from our preliminary assessment is sufficiently clear, we may issue a positive decision without arranging an interview. If this is not the case, or if we need more information, we will invite the appointee for an assessment interview. We may also wish to invite them because of the importance of the position or the situation at the institution in question.

If the interview does not give us a clear and comprehensive picture, we may schedule a second interview. We will inform the appointee of the reason for the second interview.

Decision-making

Based on our assessment and the interview(s), we will issue a decision about the appointee’s fitness or propriety, or both, as soon as possible. In the case of institutions that are subject to supervision by both DNB and CBCS, each supervisory authority carries out its own assessment.

The appointee may only be appointed and commence policy-making activities once DNB and CBCS have each taken a positive decision and given their consent to the proposed appointment. 

Procedure in the event of a (provisional) negative decision

If we intend to issue a negative decision, we will inform the appointee in writing of our intention to do so and contact them by telephone or video conference to explain our findings and conclusions. The appointee and the institution may present a statement of views in response to the provisional decision. If we decide to uphold our negative decision, they will have the option to object and appeal.

Statement of Views

A statement of views is an oral or written response to a provisional decision. Both the institution and the appointee may submit a statement of views. We consider the arguments put forward in taking our final decision. The final decision is drawn up by the staff members who also carried out the assessment. If we decide to uphold our negative decision, any interested party will have the option to object and appeal.

Objection and/or appeal

Any interested party may, within six weeks of the date of its announcement, lodge an appeal against this decision with the Court of First Instance (Gerecht in eerste aanleg) of Bonaire. Before appealing, an interested party may, also within six weeks of the date of its announcement, submit a notice of objection against DNB’s decision.