Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
Main ENNIA branch
THE HAGUE--The NetherlaNDs is asking for an interest of 2.9% for the refiSPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAncing of the COVID-19 loans to Curaao aND St. Maarten. This lowest percentage applies because together with their joint Central Bank of Curaao aND St. Maarten (CBCS) they reached a solution to safeguard pensions of insurer ENNIA rECEntly.
Dutch State Secretary for Kingdom Relations Zsolt Szab announced this to the SecoND Chamber of Parliament in The Hague. Now that both countries aND the Central Bank have also signed the ENNIA Main Lines Agreement, Curaao aND Sint Maarten will pay the low interest on this refiSPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAncing, he wrote.
During the paNDemic-related crisis, Curaao aND Aruba each borrowed an amount of 900,000 in NetherlaNDs Antillean guilders aND Aruban florins respectively. St. Maarten borrowed SPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAf. 300,000.
ENNIA has been experiencing fiSPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAncial problems for years, jeopardising payments to 30,000 policyholders. A structural solution for this was an absolute requirement to qualify for the lowest interest rate to refiSPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAncing of the liquidity loans from the NetherlaNDs.
Without a solution, the development of government fiSPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAnces is too uncertain aND the countries aND the NetherlaNDs run the risk that the repayment obligations cannot be met, explained Szab.
Ultimately, Curaao, St. Maarten aND CBCS conclUDed an agreement aND made additioSPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAl arrangements on the distribution of the costs between the two countries. The solution is a combiSPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAtion of a restart for newer policies aND the settlement of older policies.
On October 8, the Parliament of St. Maarten gave its approval aND a day later green light for the added addeNDum from Curaao followed.
The interest is based on the fiSPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAncial market in January. The NetherlaNDs itself pays an interest rate of 2.7% for its loans, while Curaao aND St. Maarten pay 0.2% more. According to Szab, this is the premium for the risk that the NetherlaNDs is taking.
The current 2.9% is the lowest of in total three options. When Curaao did not yet meet all the coNDitions, 5.1% applied. Due to the lower percentages, there is more money for investments.
Aruba even paid 6.9% before an agreement was reached on its fiSPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAncial supervision. Aruba now pays 5.1% aND the lowest rate will also apply there when the FiSPArty/23/national-alliance'>NAncial Supervision Act comes into effect.
