COUNTRY PROFILE
Total land area:..................... 161,470 sq. km.
Official language:................... Dutch
Administrative divisions:......... Ten districts
Executive branch:.................. The president is chief of state
and head of government. A
Cabinet of Ministers is appointed by the president from
among the members of the National Assembly. (Note: The
Commander in Chief of the National Army maintains significant
power).
Legislative branch:................ Unicameral National Assembly
(851 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to five-year terms).
Judicial branch:.................... Supreme Court. Justices
nominated for life.
ECONOMIC PROFILE
Currency: Surinamese guilders (SG)
GDP: US$0.3078 billion (1997)
Real GDP growth (at factor cost): 5.6 (1997p)
GDP (average annual growth rate): 0.7 (1988-1997)
GDP per capita (1990 US$): 711.7 (1997)
Consumer price index (average annual growth rate): 7.2% (1997)
Central government fiscal balance (% of current GDP): -4.0 (1997)
Money supply (M1) (% of current GDP): 22.9 (1997)
Interest rate (weighted average commercial bank lending rate): 34.6
(1997p)
Current account balance: US$0.0055 billion (1997)
Trade balance: US$0.0307 billion (1997)
Main exports: Alumina and aluminum, shrimp, rice.
Main imports: Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, mineral
fuels.
Nominal exchange rate (SG/US$): 400 (1996)
Real effective exchange rate (Index 1980=100): 66 (1997)
BANKING INSTITUTIONS
I. Banking Supervision
1. The Central Bank
of Suriname is responsible for bank supervision.
2. The Central Bank
of Suriname is an independent agency.
3. The Central Bank
of Suriname reports to the governor of the Central Bank.
4. Off-site examination
takes place on ongoing basis. On-site examinations currently
take place once a year; however, Suriname is considering increasing this
frequency.
5. After the revised
Financial Institutions Act has been passed, new regulations will
govern examination ratings and criteria.
6. The intention is
to implement the CAMEL system in 1999.
II. Consolidated Supervision
1. The supervisory
authority performs comprehensive supervision on a consolidated
basis.
2. Prior consent from
Suriname will be required to open or close a branch in
a foreign country as part of the new Financial Institutions Act.
3. Prior consent from
the home country will be required to open or close a foreign
branch in Suriname under the new act.
4. Suriname has the
right to gather information from its cross-border banking
establishments. Banks must provide the Central Bank with all information
requested,
including on establishments abroad.
III. Interest Rates
1. Interest rates
on loans are determined by the market.
2. Interest rates
on deposits are determined by the market.
IV. Insurance on Deposits
1. There is no deposit
insurance.
2. Insurance limits
are not applicable.
V. Trade Finance
1. Suriname defines
trade finance as all financing concerning trade, imports and
exports.
2. Banks bear the
risk of export, import, pre-export, working capital and
capital goods finance, letters of credit, acceptances and drafts.
3. No banks have been
liquidated since the establishment of the supervision
department.
4. Provisions during
bank liquidations are not required.
VI. Capital Adequacy
1. As part of the
forthcoming Financial Institutions Act, the Central Bank is in the
process of determining the minimum capital requirement for banks operating
in
Suriname.
2. Regulations to
operate a bank in Suriname will be introduced after the new act
is passed.
3. The new Financial
Institutions Act will contain capital adequacy requirements.
VII. Asset Quality
1. Loan portfolios
are classified as follows:
Loan
classification
Definition
% of reserves
A
Passed
0
B
Special mention
5%
C
Substandard
20%
D
Doubtful
50%
E
Loss
100%
These categories may be revised after the new act.
2. After the revised
Financial Institutions Act has been passed, regulations concerning
minimum reserve requirements will be considered.
3. In general, the
Central Bank looks at loans that exceed 25% of regulatory capital
whether on a single or group basis.
4. Investment portfolios
are not categorized according to criteria such as hold-
to-maturity, available-for-sale or trade portfolios.
5. At present there
are no investment categories in place.
6. Investment portfolio
requirements are not applicable.
VIII. Liabilities
1. There are no minimum reserve requirements on bank liabilities.
2. The types of deposits that banks can offer in domestic and foreign currency
are:
checking and savings accounts, and time deposits.
3. There are no limits on deposits.
4. There are no limits on the level of concentration for specific types
of deposits.