Guide to Doing Business
in Suriname
Credit institutions
The legal bases for supervision of the credit institutions can be found in the Supervision of the Banking and Credit System Act 2011 (Wet Toezicht Bank- en Kredietwezen 2011). This act incorporates the Basel Core Principles and broadens the scope of supervision in general. It includes a licensing system in which the Central Bank of Suriname is the sole authority to grant a license to a credit institution. Before 2011 the Minister of Trade and Industry issued a banking license and the Bank issued a declaration of no objection. Other elements of the Act are the provisions to instruct the authorized bodies of a credit institution to follow a particular line of conduct. If the institution does not comply as instructed, the Central Bank can place the credit institution under guardianship or silent custody. The provisions regarding cross-border supervision allow foreign supervisory agencies, subject to the Central Bank’s approval and conditions, to conduct their onsite inspections in Suriname in respect of affiliates and subsidiaries of said foreign credit institutions that are subject to their supervision.
Suriname has nine primary banks:
- Republic Bank (Suriname) N.V.;
- De Surinaamsche Bank N.V.;
- Hakrinbank N.V.;
- Surinaamse Postspaarbank;
- Stichting Surinaamse Volkscredietbank;
- Landbouwbank N.V.;
- Finabank N.V.;
- Surichange Bank N.V.; and
- Coöperatieve Spaar- en Kredietbank Godo G.A.
The Government is a (major) shareholder/owner in five of the above mentioned banks.