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About the Bank

Frequently Asked Questions

The Central Bank is a legal entity constituted and governed by public law and is established in Curacao.

The legal basis for all acts of the Central Bank is the Central Bank Statute for Curacao and Sint Maarten, AB 2010, no. 85 (for Curacao) and Central Bank Statute for Curacao and Sint Maarten, AB 2010 GT, no. 24 (for Sint Maarten)  (Centrale Bank-statuut voor Curacao en Sint Maarten, AB 2010, # 85 (Curacao) en AB 2010 GT, # 24 (Sint Maarten)).

There is a Board of Supervisors that supervises the Board of Directors of the CBCS and the means that have been entrusted to the Central Bank. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board is appointed and dismissed by the government of Curaçao and Sint Maarten. In addition, the Board of Supervisors appoints an external auditor that is in charge of the financial supervision on the CBCS.

The Central Bank has the following tasks and responsibilities:

  1. The Central Bank is the only institution entitled by law to issue money (coins and paper) in Curacao and Sint Maarten.
  2. The Central Bank supervises banking and credit institutions in Curacao and Sint Maarten to guarantee depositors and other creditors funds at credit and banking institutions in particular and the soundness of the financial sector in general.
  3. The Central Bank manages the foreign exchange reserves of Curacao and Sint Maarten, which includes regulating the transfer of payments between residents of Curacao and Sint Maarten and non-residents.
  4. The Central Bank can act as the treasurer of both the Governements of Curacao and Sint Maarten.

If the decision is based on private law, civil proceedings will have to be followed based on the Civil Code of either Curacao and Sint Maarten

If the decision is based on public law, being a so called administrative decision by the Central Bank, a procedure in accordance with the Ordinance administrative law, N.G. 2001, no. 79 (Landsverordening administratieve rechtspraak, P.B. 2001, # 79) will have to be followed.

No, the employees have entered an employment agreement according to private law with the Central Bank. However, for some benefits such as the pension plan, the employees are considered to be civil servants.

- Foreign exchange transactions Act, N.G. 1981, no. 67
  (Landsverordening Deviezenverkeer, P.B. 1981, # 67)

- National Ordinance corporate pension funds, N.G. 1985, no. 44
  (Landsverordening ondernemingspensioenfondsen, PB 1985, no. 44)

- National Ordinance insurance supervision, N.G. 1990, no. 77
  (Landsverordening toezicht verzekeringsbedrijf, P.B. 1990, # 77)

- National Ordinance on the supervision of banking and credit institutions, N.G. 1994, no. 4
  (Landsverordening toezicht bank- en kredietwezen, P.B. 1994, # 4)

- National Ordinance general insurance exceptional medical expenses, N.G. 1996, no. 211
  (Landsverordening algemene verzekering bijzondere ziektekosten, P.B. 1996, # 211)

- National Ordinance general pension fund of the Netherlands Antilles, N.G. 1997, no. 311
  (Landsverordening APNA, P.B. 1997, # 311)

- National Ordinance on the supervision of stock exchanges 1998, N.G. 1998, no. 225
  (Landsverordening toezicht effectenbeurzen, P.B. 1998, # 225)

- National Ordinance on the supervision of fiduciairy business, N.G. 2001, no. 81
  (Landsverordening toezicht fiduciair bedrijf, P.B. 2001, # 81)

- National Ordinance on the supervision of investment institutions and administrators, N.G. 2002, no. 137
  (Landsverordening toezicht beleggingsinstellingen en administrateurs, P.B. 2002, # 137)

- National Ordinance on insurance brokerage business, N.G. 2003, no. 113
  (Landsverordening assurantiebemiddelingsbedrijf, P.B. 2003, # 113)

- National Ordinance on the supervision of trust service providers, N.G. 2003, no. 114
  (Landsverordening toezicht trustwezen, P.B. 2003, no. 114)

Curacao and Sint Maarten form a monetary union with a common central bank. The entire equity of the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten is held by the Government of the respective countries. Each country's share in equity is determined using a distribution key as described in article 33 of the CBCS Statute.

The Central Bank-Statute regulates the independence, mandate, and organization of the CBCS, determining among other things, its tasks, responsibilities, and governance structure.
 

The Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten is an autonomous administrative authority (Zelfstandig Bestuursorgaan, ZBO). As a ZBO, the CBCS is authorized to independently perform the tasks prescribed by the Central Bank-statute and has the legal instruments to do so. In essence, CBCS is an independent institution that is not hierarchically subordinate to the governments (Ministers of Finance) of the countries, and functions without political interference in the performance of its legal tasks.

Last updated: 04.10.2024 17:10