Caribisch Nederland
The Deposit Guarantee Scheme for the Caribbean Netherlands is a regulatory scheme that guarantees bank balances up to a maximum of USD 10,000. De Nederlandsche Bank activates the deposit guarantee when a bank fails. The deposit guarantee guarantees account balances held at banks licensed by DNB to provide services in the Caribbean Netherlands. DNB's website for the Caribbean Netherlands has a register of all licensed banks.
You will not have to do anything. You do not have to register or sign up for the deposit guarantee. The deposit guarantee is free of charge for bank customers.
You can always ask your bank, or consult the register on DNB's website for the Caribbean Netherlands. If your bank is not included in the list, it is not covered by the deposit guarantee. For more information, check the page: TO WHICH BANKS DOES THE DEPOSIT GUARANTEE APPLY?
De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) executes the Deposit Guarantee Scheme for the banks that it has licensed to provide services in the Caribbean Netherlands.
The deposit guarantee applies to residents of the Caribbean Netherlands. This means people living in the Caribbean Netherlands. When the Deposit Guarantee Schme is activated, this is verified by means of the municipal registry of Bonaire, St Eustatius or Saba.
If you are a resident of the public bodies of Bonaire, St Eustatius or Saba, and are therefore in the possession of a sedula, the official identity document of the Caribbean Netherlands, issued by one of these public bodies, you will be covered by the deposit guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands.
If a person is included in the municipal personal records database of one of these public bodies and has not been marked as emigrated or deceased, this person is considered to be a resident for the purpose of the deposit guarantee. This person in principle holds a sedula.
This means that if people ask to be removed from the municipal personal records database when moving away from Bonaire, St Eustatius or Saba, they are no longer covered by the deposit guarantee.
The deposit guarantee also applies to bank balances of companies having their registered offices in the Caribbean Netherlands. There are some exceptions, however. See the answer to the question: To whom or what does the deposit guarantee not apply?
The deposit guarantee also includes underage children, as it applies per person per bank, irrespective of age.
The deposit guarantee guarantees deposits (i.e. balances on current and savings accounts and fixed-term deposits that banks are required to pay under the law or under an agreement) held at banks to which DNB has issued a licence to provide services in the Caribbean Netherlands.
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Overview of exceptions to deposit guarantee coverage |
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Deposit holders The deposit guarantee does not apply to the following bank customers: |
Deposits The deposit guarantee does not apply to the following deposits: |
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The deposit guarantee guarantees a maximum amount of USD 10,000 per account holder per bank. This is irrespective of the number of accounts that the customer holds. The interest balance is compensated until the day of the bank's bankruptcy.
If the account is registered in the name of two or more persons (joint accounts or joint accounts requiring the signature of all account holders), the account holders will be eligible individually for compensation under the deposit guarantee. Each account holder is eligible for compensation of an equal part of the account balance, unless verifiably otherwise agreed.
For example: If the balance on a joint account held by two account holders is USD 20,000 each account holder is entitled to claim USD 10,000. If an account holder has several accounts, the maximum amount of USD 10,000 applies to the sum of the balances on all his or her accounts.
De Nederlandsche Bank establishes whether a deposit is guaranteed under the Deposit Guarantee Scheme for the Caribbean Netherlands, based on the statutory and contractual provisions that apply to the deposit and the accounting records kept by the failing bank. For deposits in other currencies than the US dollar, the exchange rates of the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten, prevailing on the day of activation of the deposit guarantee for the bank in question apply.
When determining the amount of compensation under the deposit guarantee, other debts of account holders to the bank, such as personal loans, are not netted.
Suppose an account holder has a personal loan of USD 5,000 and a savings deposit of USD 10,000. In the event of a bank failure, the account holder will receive compensation to the amount of USD 10,000 under the deposit guarantee. The account holder can then ask the receiver how his USD 5,000 debt is settled against the outstanding debt of USD 5,000.
Based on the maximum amount of USD 10,000, around 91% of account holders will get all of their money back. This is comparable to the European Netherlands. This means that the guarantee complies with the international standards prescribed by the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI).
The guarantee applies per bank. If you have more than USD 10,000, you could spread your balances across several banks.
If a bank is no longer able to repay account deposits to its account holders, DNB is obliged by law to activate the Deposit Guarantee Scheme within 21 days of the deposits becoming unavailable. This for instance happens when a bank fails. After DNB activates the Deposit Guarantee Scheme for the failed bank's customers, it will publish its decision in the local press and on its website.
1 DNB will activate the Deposit Guarantee Scheme for the Caribbean Netherlands if a bank is no longer able to repay the amounts deposited to its customers, and is not expected to be able to do so within the foreseeable future. DNB has up to 21 days to make the decision after it first finds the bank in default.
2 DNB will also activate the Deposit Guarantee Scheme after a court decision blocking account holders from accessing their deposits. Declaring a bank bankrupt is an example of such a court decision.
If it activates the Deposit Guarantee Scheme, DNB will publish its decision on its website, in the Government Gazette and in the national newspapers. The announcement includes information on how affected customers can claim their compensation under the deposit guarantee. In most cases this means that DNB will open an office on the islands where the failed bank offered its services from branch offices. Customers of the failed bank can visit this office to ask questions and claim for compensation (in Papiamentu, Dutch and English).
The announcement includes information on how affected customers can claim their compensation under the deposit guarantee. In most cases this means that DNB will open an office on the islands where the failed bank offered its services from branch offices. Customers of the failed bank can visit this office to ask questions and claim for compensation (in Papiamentu, Dutch and English).
Account holders of a failed bank can submit their applications for compensation to DNB up to a maximum term of one year after the date that DNB activates the Deposit Guarantee Scheme. Applications submitted after expiration of the term of one year after the activation of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme will be not taken into consideration unless applicants missed the deadline due to circumstances beyond their control.
DNB will determine whether:
you indeed held an account at the failed bank;
you are a resident of the Caribbean Netherlands;
whether your account is covered under the deposit guarantee;
the amount of the bank balance.
DNB first consults the failed bank's accounting records. If based on this information, DNB is unable to determine whether the account holder indeed held an account at the failed bank, and the amount of the account balance, the account holder will be responsible for substantiating his or her claim.
De Nederlandsche Bank will pay out the compensation as soon as possible, but no later than three months after the date of submission of the application for compensation.
For joint accounts, the guarantee applies to each depositor individually for a proportionate part of the deposit, unless otherwise agreed by contract. The account holders are required to submit separate claims for compensation.
DNB's decision establishing the existence and balance of a claim submitted under the deposit guarantee is a decision within the meaning of the Administrative Justice (BES Islands) Act (Wet administratieve rechtspraak BES). Appeals can be filed with the Court of First Instance of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba.
You can also ask DNB to reconsider first. If you decide to do this, you must file a letter of objection with DNB. DNB's reconsideration can be appealed at the Court of First Instance. So you do not have to take this interim step. You can also object directly to the Court of First Instance.
In both cases, appeals against the Court's decision can be made to the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten and of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba.
Coverage under the deposit guarantee is free of charge for bank customers. If the Deposit Guarantee Scheme needs to be activated, for instance when a bank fails, the costs of compensation will eventually be charged to the other banks protected under the deposit guarantee. In order to guarantee the stability of the banks funding the deposit guarantee, there is a limit to the amount of contribution that may be charged to these banks annually. To ensure that the customers of a failed bank can be compensated without delay, the Dutch government pre-finances the deposit guarantee.
You can find a factsheet with more information about the deposit guarantee and the legislation on the page Legislation and regulations.
If you have any additional questions about the deposit guarantee, or if you need more information please feel free to email or call
DNB's Information Desk (Dutch and English spoken). Consumers, banks and other institutions can use the contact details below.
DNB's Information Desk is located in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. From the Caribbean Netherlands, please call (+31) 20 31 20 524 9111. The Information Desk is available between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CET.