Market access in the Caribbean Netherlands
It is of fundamental importance that financial markets are well-regulated. After all, financial institutions must be sound, reliable and stable. It is also important that the financial sector acts with integrity and is protected from being used for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes or other illegal activities. These objectives are laid down in the Financial Markets (BES) Act (Wet financiële markten BES – Wfm BES) and the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing (BES) Act (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme BES – Wwft BES).
Licence requirement
New financial institutions or service providers wishing to enter the Caribbean Netherlands’ financial markets (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire) must meet the rules and requirements regarding market access laid down in the Wfm BES and Wwft BES. An important condition for being allowed to operate in or from the Caribbean Netherlands is to have a licence granted by DNB.
Licence requirement
Anyone wishing to operate in or from the Caribbean Netherlands as a credit institution, electronic money institution, money transaction office, trust office or insurer (life, in-kind funeral services or non-life insurer) needs a licence from DNB.
We consider whether an application meets all the market access requirements under of the Wfm BES. Only after it has been demonstrated that all requirements are met can we grant a licence and is the applicant allowed to operate its business.
Licence requirements
The licence requirements are set out in the Wfm BES, the Financial Markets (BES) Decree (Bfm BES) and the Wwft BES. Among other things, the licensing requirements cover the following subjects:
- Propriety and fitness of policymakers
- Registered office and legal form
- Ethical operational management
- Sound operational management
- Transparent control structure
- Outsourcing to third parties
- Financial safeguards
- Asset separation (in the case of money transaction and trust offices)
Please note that the above overview does not provide an exhaustive list of the licensing requirements for the different types of financial institutions and service providers. For a complete overview, please refer to the statutory framework (Section 2:11 of the Wfm BES) and the questions in the relevant application form.
Application forms for credit institution seeking market access
- Licence application form for credit institution having its registered office in the Caribbean Netherlands
- Licence application form for credit institution having a branch office in the Caribbean Netherlands
- Licence application form for credit institution having its registered office outside the CN seeking to provide cross-border services
Application forms for trust offices seeking market access
- Licence application form for trust office having its registered office in the Caribbean Netherlands
- Licence application form for trust office having a branch office in the Caribbean Netherlands
- Licence application form for trust office having its registered office outside the CN seeking to provide cross-border services
Application forms for money transaction offices seeking market access
- Licence application form for money transaction office having its registered office in the Caribbean Netherlands
- Licence application form for money transaction office having a branch office in the Caribbean Netherlands
- Licence application form for money transaction office having its registered office outside the CN seeking to provide cross-border services
Application forms for insurers seeking market access
Duration of a licence procedure
The statutory decision period for considering licence applications is 13 weeks. We may suspend this period if the application is incomplete or if we encounter issues during our assessment that require further clarification or additions in order to reach a proper opinion. In that case, we will give you the opportunity to supplement your application and re-start our assessment of your application once we have received the supplement(s).
The completeness and quality of the application therefore have an impact on the overall duration of the processing of your licence application.
Register
The register includes the licences we have granted under the Wfm BES. Insurers having their registered office outside the Caribbean Netherlands, i.e. in Curaçao and Sint Maarten, may under specific circumstances, after notifying DNB, provide cross-border services in the Caribbean Netherlands. These notified insurers are also included in the register.
Application fees
We charge a fee for assessing licence applications and notifications. Fees are payable regardless of the outcome of the licence application or notification procedure. The amount of these one-off charges for processing applications is laid down by ministerial regulation.
Regular supervision fees
We also charge annual fees for our regular supervision of financial enterprises.
Their amounts are also set by ministerial regulation.
Declaration of no objection
A declaration of no-objection is required in the following two situations:
- holding, acquiring or increasing a qualifying holding in a financial enterprise (Section 3:28 of the Wfm BES), and
- certain acts by a credit institution (Section 4:23 of the Wfm BES)
Declaration of no-objection for a qualifying holding in a financial enterprise
A declaration of no-objection (DNO) is required for holding, acquiring or increasing a qualifying holding in a credit institution, electronic money institution, trust office or insurer (life, in-kind funeral services, and non-life) having its registered office in the Caribbean Netherlands or for exercising the control associated with that holding.
A qualifying holding is defined as:
- a direct or indirect holding representing 10% or more of the issued share capital of an institution of the types listed above
- the ability to exercise, directly or indirectly, at least 10% of the voting rights in such a financial institution
- the ability to exercise, directly or indirectly, a comparable type of control.
A DNO must be requested from DNB using an application form.
We charge a fee for processing DNO applications, irrespective of their outcome. The amount of these one-off charges for processing DNO applications is set by ministerial regulation.
Application form for declaration of no-objection as referred to in Section 3:28 of the Wfm BES
Declaration of no objection for credit institutions
Credit institutions with a registered office in the Caribbean Netherlands must obtain a declaration of no objection for the purpose of the following acts:
- Reducing own funds through the repayment of capital or disbursement of reserves
- Acquiring, whether direct or indirect, and whether in whole or in large part, the assets and liabilities of another enterprise or institution
- Implementing a financial or corporate restructuring
- Acquiring or expanding a significant holding in another enterprise
- Entering into a merger with another enterprise or institution
- Establishing subsidiaries, branch offices or savings funds under whatever name
- Amending its Articles of Association
Application form for declaration of no-objection as referred to in Section 4:23 of the Wfm BES
Which banks?
Which banks?
Which banks are covered by the deposit guarantee?
Money in a bank account with one of these banks in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba is protected:*
- Banco di Caribe N.V.
- Maduro & Curiel's Bank (Bonaire) N.V.
- Orco Bank N.V.
- RBC Royal Bank N.V.
- Vidanova Bank N.V.
These banks have a licence to operate as a bank in the Caribbean Netherlands. This list is subject to change. 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.
*) Currently, First Caribbean International Bank (Cayman) Ltd. and PSB Bank N.V. are also licensed to provide services in the Caribbean Netherlands. As these two banks currently have no branch offices in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba, the balances held at these banks are not eligible for the deposit guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands.
Is my money protected?
You can quickly check whether you are protected by the deposit guarantee. Just answer these three questions:
If you answer "yes" to all three questions, you can be almost certain that your money, or that of your company, is protected up to $25,000 per person or company, per bank, subject to a few exceptions. Please refer to the factsheet.
If you answer "no" to one or more questions, your money, or that of your company, is most likely not protected under the deposit guarantee.
- Is your money, or that of your company, placed in an account with a bank in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba covered by the deposit guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands?
The banks covered by the deposit guarantee are listed on the page Which banks? A bank account is an account such as a payment account, a savings account or a time deposit. - Are you, or is your company, formally registered as the owner of the account(s) in which the money is placed?
The $10,000 maximum protection applies per person or company, per bank. This maximum therefore applies to the combined amount for all accounts that you, or your company, has with one bank. In the case of a joint account, the maximum applies per person. Check out our brochure and factsheet for sample calculations.
Sometimes someone holds a bank account on behalf of another person. This is called an escrow account. If such an escrow account meets a number of criteria, the other person’s or company’s account is protected by the deposit guarantee. Please refer to the factsheet. - Are you a resident with a sedula of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba, or is your company registered in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba?
If you are a resident of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba, which means you have a sedula, you will most likely be covered by the deposit guarantee scheme, but the deposit guarantee does not apply to certain account holders. Please refer to the factsheet.