Kralendijk- As of Monday March 5, 2018, bank branches in Bonaire will display posters and brochures informing customers about how their bank accounts are protected by the deposit guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands. The information will explain how the new system works. Since October 2017, money held in bank accounts by residents of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba is protected up to USD 10,000 per person, per bank .

Raising awareness of the deposit guarantee is a joint effort with banks on Bonaire that are protected by the guarantee. The purpose of this is to make clear to customers that their bank is a member of the deposit guarantee. Bonaire residents will also be informed through internet and radio.

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), responsible for managing the deposit guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands, considers it important that residents are aware of the existence of the guarantee and its main conditions. Thanks to the deposit guarantee, customers of a bank can be assured that their savings are protected should anything happen to a bank. In this way, the guarantee also contributes to financial stability. Around the world, there are over one hundred countries that have in place a deposit guarantee system.

Conditions of the deposit guarantee
The brochure on the deposit guarantee clarifies that residents of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba are protected up to USD 10,000 per person, per bank, provided they meet the following three conditions:
1. The money is placed on an account of a bank that has been licensed by DNB and operates on Bonaire, St Eustatius or Saba;
2. The resident (or company) is formally registered with the bank as the owner of the account;
3. The resident has a sedula (or is a company) issued by the public entity Bonaire, St Eustatius or Saba.

Residents of Bonaire who want further information about the deposit guarantee for the Caribbean Netherlands should contact their branch or visit their bank’s website. Visit DNB’s website for the Caribbean Netherlands (www.cn.dnb.nl) for further information about the deposit guarantee. The website offers the brochure and a factsheet in three different languages. Both documents explain how the deposit guarantee works.

People who have any questions, can also email or call DNB’s Information Desk (in Dutch or English).

In spite of the fact that the deposit guarantee applies to all three BES-islands, the information campaign is only targeted on Bonaire at this moment. The BES-Reporter understands from the RCN Communications department that an information campaign for St. Eustatius and Saba will be planned in a later stage.