WILLEMSTAD - Since December 16, 2013, the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) has taken over all powers of the directors and supervisory board members of Girobank. In the period until November 2020, CBCS made several attempts to find a solution for the emergency measure at Girobank. These solutions included both recapitalization and (partial) sale of the bank. 

This information is stated in the leaked summary of the report by Deloitte on the emergency measure taken by the Central Bank at Girobank. The full report has not been made public. 

Unfortunately, the efforts to recapitalize or sell Girobank did not lead to a definitive solution. Before and after the emergency measure was put in place, CBCS had consultations with Girobank's shareholders, lLG, and APC. 

Shareholders 

Initially, it was discussed whether the shareholders could provide a subordinated loan to Girobank. When this was not successful, the CBCS requested both shareholders to submit a recapitalization plan. As they did not do so in a timely manner, in June 2014, the CBCS announced that it would search for alternative options on its own. 

Subsequently, the CBCS started searching for potential partners for a (partial) sale of Girobank. During the period until 2020, talks were held with several dozens of parties, but negotiations with two of them were the most advanced and ultimately led to nothing. 

In 2015 and 2016, negotiations took place between the CBCS and Activo Financial Group regarding the acquisition of Girobank. Activo Financial Group intended to fully acquire Girobank and integrate it into the newly established Activo Bank. However, these negotiations stalled in November 2016, mainly due to the guarantees and required capital injection from Activo Financial Group, which the latter was not willing to meet. 

Pension Fund APC 

Subsequently, in November 2016, shareholder APC expressed interest in partially acquiring Girobank and integrating it into the newly established APC Bank. The CBCS negotiated with APC regarding the terms of this acquisition until mid-2020. The plan also involved the contribution of PSB Bank to APC Bank and a capital injection from the Country of Curaçao. Girobank would be split into a "good bank" and a "bad bank," with APC Bank only acquiring the "good bank." 

However, in July 2020, APC significantly reduced its offer for the "good bank" from 182 million guilders to 66.6 million, citing the impact of Covid-19 on the value of Girobank. In August 2020, the CBCS, together with the Country of Curaçao, withdrew from the negotiations because the offer deviated too far from the original bid. 

Ultimately, the Dutch government had to step in to ensure that account holders could retrieve their funds.