THE HAGUE, WILLEMSTAD – The Netherlands provided Curaçao with tens of millions in new loans in 2025 and was also forced to partially refinance an earlier loan after the country proved unable to repay it in full. The Dutch House of Representatives is only now receiving the formal risk assessments related to those decisions, several months after the loans were approved.
In December 2025, the Netherlands issued a linear loan of 115.7 million Caribbean guilders, equivalent to approximately 55 million euros, through the so-called ongoing subscription mechanism. The loan has a maturity of 30 years. Curaçao is using the funds to finance renovation works at the courthouse located in the city hall, the construction of a new crisis center near Rio Canario, as well as investments in digitalization, infrastructure, the coast guard and the fire department.
In addition to that loan, an earlier maturing loan of 140 million Caribbean guilders was refinanced in October 2025. According to the College financieel toezicht, Curaçao did not have sufficient financial resources to fully repay the amount when it came due. As a result, the Netherlands issued a new loan of 80 million guilders with a 20-year maturity, while Curaçao repaid the remaining 60 million guilders itself.
In both cases, the mandatory risk assessment under the Dutch government’s Risk Framework for State Guarantees and Loans was not submitted to Parliament immediately after the decisions were taken. The government now states that this was done “by mistake” and has forwarded the documents retroactively in order to comply with policy requirements.
According to the risk framework, the Netherlands faces both default risk and exchange rate risk, since the loans are issued in Caribbean guilders while the Dutch state budget is denominated in euros. The cabinet considers these risks acceptable, partly based on a positive assessment by the College financieel toezicht.
The delayed disclosure has renewed attention in The Hague to Curaçao’s financial dependence on Dutch lending and the structural challenges surrounding debt sustainability, refinancing and fiscal resilience within the Kingdom.