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PHILIPSBURG – The Dutch Caribbean islands are now facing a delay in resolving the de-risking issue facing banks in the Caribbean.
According to Minister of Finance Richard Gibson, the Dutch Caribbean islands have been asked by the US to get assistance first from the Dutch government before a solution can be pursued on this matter.
The Minister noted that the US commended the Dutch Caribbean islands and Jamaica for their approach to finding a solution to this problem. “America had expressed its interest…to use the Dutch Islands as well as Jamaica as an example to the world as to how de-risking should be approached. However, they also require the Netherlands to be on board to facilitate this process. All of the Dutch islands agree to go down this process, but the Netherlands has some hesitation as far as this is concerned,†the Minister disclosed.
According to Gibson, the reason for the reservation on the part of the Netherlands had to do with concerns about the supervision at the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten. “It’s my HOPE that the Dutch will realize that this is of life importance to us and that they too will pick up the suggestion and proposal made by the United States to work together to make the Dutch islands and Jamaica an example as to how de-risking should be resolved similarly to how it has been resolved for Mexico,†Gibson said.
