THE HAGUE - The Dutch Senate is urging the implementation of a uniform financial supervision framework for all Caribbean parts of the Kingdom, including Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, and the BES islands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba). 

During a recent meeting of the Kingdom Relations Committee, the College financieel toezicht (Cft)—the financial supervisory body—highlighted the current discrepancies between supervision regimes. While Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten operate under different oversight rules compared to the BES islands, this fragmented approach leads to administrative complications and limited knowledge sharing among the jurisdictions. 

The Senate stressed that transparency and strengthened good governance are key reasons to harmonize supervisory standards across the entire Caribbean Kingdom. 

Attention was also drawn to the new financial law ‘Finbas’, designed to modernize and reinforce financial supervision specifically for the BES islands. The Cft anticipates the law to be implemented before the end of 2025, but cautions that a lack of expertise and political support could delay the process. 

Uniform financial oversight aims to streamline administration, increase accountability, and foster better cooperation within the Kingdom’s Caribbean territories, strengthening overall economic stability and governance.