WILLEMSTAD – The Curaçao government paid out millions of guilders in subsidies and social contributions earlier than scheduled because of the transition to a new house bank, according to the Financial Management Report (FMR) for March 2026.
The report reveals that subsidy expenditures in the first quarter were Cg. 37.2 million higher than forecast, mainly because April subsidy payments were already transferred at the end of March.
The Ministry of Finance stated that the early payments were intended to prevent disruptions during the transition to the government’s new banking partner, selected through a public tender process. The subsidies largely cover salary payments for institutions dependent on government funding.
A similar situation occurred with social security payments. Contributions to social funds managed by the Social Insurance Bank (SVB), including AOV/AWW, AVBZ and BVZ, exceeded projections by Cg. 30.8 million.
According to the report, this was also linked to the banking transition, as April contributions worth Cg. 26 million were already paid in March. Additionally, more social assistance payments were made because a bonus payment was issued in January and a “kinsena” payment was moved from early April into March.
The Ministry emphasized that these higher expenditures are temporary timing effects and are not expected to cause budget overruns over the full year. Based on the current spending pattern, subsidy expenditures are still projected to remain within the approved annual budget framework.