Minister of Finance outlines path to restore full oversight CBCS, updates ENNIA, Mullet Bay

GREAT BAY--Minister of Finance Marinka Gumbs on Wednesday presented a detailed update to Parliament on governance at the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten, the ENNIA resolution, and the status of Mullet Bay. As expected, the majority of the meeting focused on the "conditional appointment" of attorney Jairo Bloem for the position of chairman of the board of the CBCS. Bloem has since withdrawn his name from consideration, but MPs still pressed the Minister on the process to arrive at his nomination in the first place (see related stories).  

She described the legal framework, the steps already taken, and the next actions that will be pursued to restore full governance at the bank, protect policyholders, and preserve St. Maarten’s position regarding Mullet Bay.

The Minister reaffirmed that every step taken has followed the CBCS Charter. The Charter requires a joint nomination by the Ministers of Finance of Curaçao and St. Maarten, based on a recommendation of the Supervisory Board of Directors, and for the chairmanship, that recommendation must reach a five sixths threshold. She underscored the Charter’s principle of fairness between the countries, noting that equal decision making is the foundation of the monetary union.

The Minister noted three persistent gaps. There has been no duly appointed chair of the supervisory board for about four years. St. Maarten has been short one supervisory board member for about three years. There is no St. Maarten representative on the management board. In her view, these gaps weaken oversight and signal a need to complete appointments within the Charter’s structure.

The Minister provided a dated sequence of actions aimed at ending the chair vacancy:

• December 12, 2024, a formal request to the supervisory board for a chair recommendation by December 31, 2024.

• January 21, 2025, a follow up letter asking for a candidate within two weeks.

• January 31, 2025, the board replied that interviews were underway and a recommendation would follow.

• July 2025, a former director resigned. The Charter anticipates a nomination and appointment within three months. The three month window expired October 1, 2025 without a recommendation for that management role.

• October 2025, the board indicated a chair name would be provided. The Minister requested a timeline and set a response date of November 4, 2025.

After months without a recommendation for chair, the Council of Ministers approved an in-principle, conditional step to begin engagement on a candidate. The Minister emphasized that this was not an appointment, it was explicitly conditioned on the Charter’s requirements, joint nomination with Curaçao and the completion of all screenings by the respective national authorities, followed by appointment by national decrees of both countries. The candidate later withdrew, ending that specific path.

On the five sixths threshold for recommending a chair, the Minister’s interpretation is five of six statutory members. She also raised concern about the prolonged use of temporary members and stressed the need to regularize appointments within set terms to support good governance.

Minister Gumbs informed Parliament that Curaçao’s Minister of Finance resigned on October 25, 2025. Understandings reached earlier must now be reconvened with the acting minister. As a result, discussions on chairmanship must restart to reach joint nomination, as the Charter requires.

If a chair name is not provided by the board within a reasonable period, the Minister intends to consult the Minister of Finance of Curaçao and the President of the Joint Court of Justice to seek a path that unlocks the process while remaining fully within the Charter.

To avoid confusion, the Minister restated the four sequential steps that must occur before any chair can be appointed.

• A recommendation by the Supervisory Board with a five sixths vote.

• A joint nomination by both Ministers of Finance.

• Completion of screenings by the relevant national agencies.

• Joint appointment by national decrees, one for each country.

Minister Gumbs stressed that the goal is clear, restore full governance at CBCS, complete the appointments foreseen by the Charter, maintain St. Maarten’s equal standing inside the monetary union, and provide certainty to policyholders, investors, rating agencies, and international partners that assess the governance of the union.

𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐀, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞

The Minister recapped the legal structure since July 4, 2018, when emergency regulation separated ENNIA’s old liabilities from new operations. The Resolution Fund, financed by CBCS and the countries, covers the old deficit. The restructured group began operating in January 2025 as a solvent entity. Civil and disciplinary proceedings remain ongoing. An independent appraisal of Mullet Bay for the period 2009 to 2018 is pending as part of related proceedings. A judgment is expected toward the end of 2026, with ordinary legal steps following any judgment.

𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐲, 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤

The Minister stated that Mullet Bay is not on the market. Sun Resorts N.V. and CBCS are coordinating on two immediate tracks, a formal master plan process and boundary certainty for the property. Sun Resorts intends to run the master planning process and has invited government input. Government has not taken a position on co developing the plan. The Minister said the implications for the ENNIA outline agreement, the costs, the timeline, and the tangible financial outcomes must be assessed before a position is taken. Throughout, St. Maarten’s contractual right of first refusal remains in place under the outline agreement. The government is evaluating financing and structuring options so that this right can be exercised if and when appropriate.

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