Supervision of credit institutions in the Caribbean Netherlands

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De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) supervises credit institutions in the Caribbean Netherlands under the Financial Markets (BES) Act (Wfm BES).  

The following themes are important for our supervision of the sector, on which relevant, current publications can be found at the bottom of this page.

Themes

Information about specific subjects 

Are you operating as a credit institution in the Caribbean Netherlands or are you planning to do so? On the Market access page, you can find more information and application forms.

If you cannot find the requested information or if you have any other questions, 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. 

Prudential supervision

DNB is tasked with the prudential supervision of credit institutions in the Caribbean Netherlands pursuant to the Wfm BES (Dutch). This supervision is geared to the soundness of financial institutions and contributes to the stability of the financial sector and sustainable prosperity. Prudential supervision serves to protect the interests of customers of credit institutions and contributes to trust in the financial sector. Prudential supervision consists of solvency and liquidity supervision aimed at ensuring that a financial institution can always meet its payment obligations. Supervision aims to reduce the risk of bankruptcy, without necessarily ruling out bankruptcy in a market economy.

Legal basis

The legal basis for the prudential supervision of credit institutions conducting activities in the Caribbean Netherlands is in the Wfm BES.

Our mandate includes: 

  • granting a credit institution access to the market, e.g. by issuing a licence
  • collecting information from a supervised credit institution and reviewing this against applicable supervisory requirements
  • intervening and making adjustments in a supervised credit institution if it fails to comply with applicable supervisory requirements 

Collaboration with other supervisory authorities 

We work closely with other domestic and foreign supervisory authorities, such as the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) and the Central Bank of Aruba (CBA). This cooperation includes

  • aligning delegated regulations and policies governing subjects that are relevant to both prudential and integrity supervision
  • exchanging information and coordinating specific supervisory activities

Credit institutions having their registered office in the Caribbean Netherlands fall under our prudential and integrity supervision. Branch offices are subject to our integrity supervision, while the CBCS exercises prudential supervision of branch offices, through the ‘main enterprise’. Most credit institutions based in the Caribbean Netherlands are local branch offices of credit institutions with registered office in Curaçao or Sint Maarten. 

Integrity supervision

We monitor the measures that credit institutions have taken as part of their operational management to manage integrity risks under the Wfm BES. In addition, we focus on the measures implemented pursuant to the Wwft BES and the Sanctions Act (Sanctiewet 1977 – Sw). These acts apply to credit institutions operating in the Caribbean Netherlands.

More information on sound and ethical operational management required under the Wfm BES, the Wwft BES and the Sanctions Act can be found here.

News and publications

Register

The register includes the licences we have granted under the Wfm BES. In general, financial institutions must have a licence from DNB to conduct activities in the Caribbean Netherlands.

The register was established pursuant to Sections 2:19 and 2:20 of the Wfm BES and Sections 2:12 to 2:14 of the Bfm BES.