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| News Bulletin for financial enterprises in the Dutch Caribbean - Edition 2 - April 2013 |
| Dear relatie, |
| You are receiving this second News bulletin for financial enterprises on Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.. If you prefer to read the news bulletin in Dutch follow this link: |
| Topics in this news bulletin |
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| No commission ban in the Dutch Caribbean The AFM receives many questions about whether the commission ban from 1 January 2013 also applies to insurance brokers, banks and insurers in the Dutch Caribbean. The commission ban only applies to the Netherlands in Europe and not in the Dutch Caribbean. The decision on whether this will also apply in the Dutch Caribbean in the future will be made by the Ministry of Finance. At this time it is not know whether a commission ban is going to be introduced in the Dutch Caribbean. However, Section 5:10 of the Financial Markets (BES Islands) Act does apply. This Article provides that the remuneration an advisor or broker is paid by the provider of a financial service for the provision of financial services may not be such that the remuneration puts or could put the interests of the consumer or customer in jeopardy. Some different laws apply to the Dutch Caribbean in comparison to the laws that apply in the Netherlands in Europe. This means that all legislative amendments in the Netherlands do not automatically enter into force in the Dutch Caribbean. All currently relevant legislation for the Dutch Caribbean can be found via:  Relevant legislation for the Dutch Caribbean |
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| New standard creditworthiness assessment amounts in AFM calculation model for responsible lending For the assessment of the creditworthiness, each year there is an adjustment of the standard amount for household costs and the actual amount in rent or mortgage payments for the various islands of the Dutch Caribbean included in these standard amounts. This happens pursuant to Section 2:5 of the Financial Markets (BES Islands) Regulations. The Ministry of Finance has recently adjusted the standard amounts. The new figures will come into force on 1 April 2013 and are adjusted on the basis of the development of the consumer price index for the Dutch Caribbean published by Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek – ‘CBS’). In 2012, consumer prices rose on Bonaire by 2.9%, on Sint Eustatius by 5.2%, and on Saba by 3.7%. We recommend you to adjust the amounts in your models. You can take note of the adjusted amounts via: Model for maximum lending in the Dutch Caribbean |
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| Self Assessment In February and March 2013, the AFM received completed Self Assessments (SAs) from 39 enterprises under supervision. These SAs provide a lot of supervision information. The AFM is currently examining whether this information provides reasons for any adjustments to its current supervisory strategy on the islands. If necessary, the AFM will ask enterprises for explanations or additional information as a result of the answers in the SAs. |
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| Introduction of a maximum effective credit interest rate On 1 January 2013, the maximum allowed effective credit interest rate was set at 24%. We observe in practice that some enterprises still calculate the nominal interest rate instead of the effective interest rate. On basis of the legislation the effective interest rate must be incorporated in the (precontractual) information about credit which is customer-oriented. This way consumers can compare the information about different credits properly. We point out to all the companies that they inform their customers on a correct manner about the interest. If applicable, the own processes must be adjusted to this. |
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| Frequently Asked Questions on the AFM’s website The AFM regularly receives questions from enterprises about how certain statutory regulations must be construed, interpreted or applied. The AFM records answers to these questions on its website under the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQs) heading. We recommend you to consult these FAQs regularly. No new FAQs have been added since the last news bulletin. However, the AFM has translated a number of FAQs into English. You can consult these questions and answers via: Frequently asked questions Dutch Caribbean |
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| AFM would like to receive notifications concerning advisors, brokers or providers without a licence The AFM does not have a permanent representative in the Dutch Caribbean. Therefore, it is difficult for the AFM to track down enterprises without a license that advise insurance or credit, provides brokerage services on insurance or credit or offer /provide credit or insurance in the Dutch Caribbean. If you know an enterprise or person that performs these (illegal) activities or you suspect this, please notify the AFM. You can do this via the email address bes@afm.nl. The AFM has an obligation of confidentiality and will treat your information confidentially. More information concerning laws and regulations, policy rules, forms, and FAQs is provided on the AFM’s website: Legislation in the Dutch Caribbean |
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| AFM in the news In February 2013, during a press conference on Bonaire, the AFM provided an explanation and more detailed information concerning the supervision on the conduct-of-business. During this meeting, the AFM explained how it supervises the conduct of the financial enterprises towards their clients. We have published the background information from this press conference on our website: Background information press conference (PDF) |
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| Questions If you still have any questions as a result of this news bulletin, please send an email to bes@afm.nl. We will respond as soon as possible. |
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Newsletters and alert serviceFor the previously issued news bulletin, please go to Publications news bulletin |
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