PHILIPSBURG--Parties closely involved with the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) are critical, but optimistic about CBCS.
This is reflected in a survey conducted by independent research firm RE-Quest on behalf of 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,” said CBCS Supervisory Board Chairman 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 CBCS at an aggregate level, making the information untraceable to any specific organisation or individual.
The survey aimed to gain better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of different stakeholder groups and focused on the perceived contact with the CBCS, its image, its perceived performance, how stakeholders assess its core functions, and stakeholder suggestions for focus and improvements.
In general, CBCS scored satisfactory on the aspects measured, CBCS said in a press statement. Stakeholders under supervision are slightly more positive than average, while those who are not under supervision are slightly less positive than average.
The study identified four main areas where the CBCS can improve: resolving the current situation with the two financial institutions, Girobank and Ennia insurance company, that are subject to the emergency regulation; restoring the community’s confidence in CBCS’ integrity; improving response time and communication; and focusing on payment-system innovation and improvements.
The results provide CBCS with starting points to improve its services to and communication with various stakeholder groups, it was stated in the release.
“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,” said CBCS President Richard Doornbosch.
CBCS will also be communicating more about the actions it is taking both internally and externally. “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.
CBCS will be repeating the survey every two years to identify trends and determine whether its efforts to enhance its service and communication are indeed leading to improved stakeholder perception and experience.
The report is available for download at
www.centralbank.cw/publications/reports.
