PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr. defended President of the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten Emsley Tromp, amidst news reports on the performance of the Bank.
“I have taken notice of the recent news reports surrounding the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten. It is lamentable that confidential information obtained in the course of exercising the regulatory duties of the CBCS has been leaked to unauthorized persons,” Gibson said in a statement to the media on Wednesday, June 22, during the Council of Ministers press briefing.
“The publicity of this information is damaging to the reputation of the CBCS and sends the wrong message to local and international investors in terms of doing business in Curaçao and St. Maarten,” Gibson noted.
According to Minister Gibson, the information relating to the President of the CBCS is not based on facts. “Based on the information available to me to date, I can conclude that the publicity surrounding the integrity of the President of the CBCS is steeped in rumor and innuendo and not based on facts,” the Minister said.
“The stewardship of the President of the CBCS over the last 30 years has been stellar and in my view no facts exist to question the integrity of the President. As Minister of Finance of St. Maarten, I am of the opinion that good governance and the application of the rule of law should be the basis on which the CBCS and its President should be judged. In the interest of the CBCS and the countries forming part of the monetary union, it is my fervent hope that all parties will refrain from debasing the reputation of the regulator with rumors and innuendo,” Gibson continued.
Meanwhile, Minister Gibson argued that the recent developments undermine investor confidence and that the matter will be investigated. “Investors have to rely that confidential information provided to the regulator remains confidential under all circumstances to maintain and guarantee a sound financial system. With this in mind the law dictates that certain information has to remain secret. The leaking of secret information protected by law is a serious crime, and an investigation should be conducted to determine the source of the leak of this confidential information,” he stated.
The Minister asserted that he has full confidence in the ability of the CBCS, as regulator, to take the appropriate actions regarding any financial institution that is underperforming. “I have full confidence that if solvency or other risks are discovered by the regulator in any financial institution under its supervision, that the regulator will take the appropriate steps to have such threats corrected, including the withdrawal of the license of such a financial institution, as they have consistently done for decennia,” Minister Gibson concluded.
