WILLEMSTAD - If it were up to him, the Central Bank (CBCS) would have intervened in the Girobank much tougher in 2013. Bob Traa, interim director of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) said this during the press conference yesterday.

Traa took office on 13 June this year but has resigned as of 31 December. The emergency regulation at Girobank has been in force for six, almost seven years, is “not common,” says Traa. “Supervision in Curaçao must be strengthened. One should talk to banks that are in trouble earlier and not wait until such a large negative capital has been built up. That is the lesson we can learn from this.”

Girobank's debt of 270 million guilders to CBCS has been built up over the years, “but I would not have done it that way,” says Traa. “That is my opinion. I would have acted differently in 2013. My advice is: strengthen supervision and intervene earlier and harder. Then the taxpayer runs less risk.”

Traa indicated that he would have closed the bank in 2013 instead of maintaining operations to try to save it.