SINT MAARTEN/CURACAO – Parties closely involved with the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) are critical but optimistic about the CBCS, the financial regulatory body said in a press statement on Saturday.
This is reflected in the survey conducted by independent research firm RE-Quest on behalf of the CBCS among its stakeholders. “Being aware of the expectations and experience of our professional relations is of great importance to the CBCS in order to properly carry out its tasks,” according to the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the CBCS, Etienne Ys.
The report containing the survey results was presented to the Supervisory Board on March 25. A total of 243 stakeholders participated in the online survey conducted in November/December 2020. To ensure its confidentiality, the results were reported by RE-Quest to the CBCS at an aggregate level, making the information untraceable to any specific organization or individual.
The survey aimed to gain a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of different stakeholder groups and focused on the perceived contact with the CBCS, the CBCS’s image, its perceived performance, how stakeholders assess its core functions, as well as stakeholder suggestions for focus and improvements.
In general, the CBCS scores satisfactory on the aspects measured. Stakeholders under supervision are slightly more positive than average, while those who are not under supervision are slightly less positive than average.
The study identifies four main areas where the CBCS can improve: 1) resolving the current situation with the two financial institutions, Giro and Ennia, that are subject to the emergency regulation, 2) restoring the community’s confidence in the CBCS’s integrity, 3) improving response time and communication, and 4) focusing on payment-system innovation and improvements.
The results provide the CBCS with starting points to improve its services to and communication with various stakeholder groups. “The survey shows that stakeholders frequently perceive our role as that of a distant supervisory authority. That is something we want to change. Our supervision will become more intrusive and we will strive for open and direct communication with all our stakeholders,” explains Richard Doornbosch, president of the CBCS.
The CBCS will also be communicating more about the actions it is taking both internally and externally. “The CBCS is in the middle of implementing many internal changes. This survey confirms that we are on the right track with these changes and that we could do more in communicating about such matters,” says Doornbosch.
The CBCS will be repeating the survey every two years to identify trends and determine whether the efforts to enhance its service and communication are indeed leading to an improved stakeholder perception and experience.
The report is available for download at www.centralbank.cw/publications/reports.
