Director's Report
Following the challenges of the year 2009, the global economy is now
slowly emerging from its deepest recession
in decades. The real gross domestic product
(“GDP”) growth of 4.8% in 2010 was primarily
driven by a robust growth of the real GDP in
the emerging and developing countries such
as Brazil that posted a gain in GDP of 7.5%.
The US economic growth picked up notably in the last quarter of 2010.
However, despite a GDP growth of 2.6% in
2010, the unemployment rate has remained
close to 10%. Consumer confidence
unexpectedly declined in December 2010, a
sign that the US economy may struggle to
sustain momentum in 2011. The recovery in
the euro-zone as a whole has continued with
a real GDP growth of 1.7%, but divergences
between the core and peripheral economies
are growing. With the core economies
resistance to adopting bolder policies to
assist the weaker euro economies, concerns
about the future of the euro are likely to
intensify. The outlook for emerging markets
is characterized by robust growth driven by
strong domestic demand.
Locally, we experienced the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles, the
creation of two new countries, Curaçao and
St. Maarten and the integration of the BES
islands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba)
into the Netherlands. A major consequence of
this process was the government debt relief
program that resulted in a reduction of the
public debt to GDP ratio from 82% to 34%.
Curaçao posted a GDP growth of 0.4% in 2010,
combined with an inflation rate of 2.7%.
Real GDP growth for 2011 is projected at
0.6%. The relatively stagnant growth is
influenced by the uncertainty with respect
to the sustainability of the recovery of
developed nations. Higher domestic energy
prices are expected to drive the inflation
rate to 4.8% in 2011. The prospects for long
term economic growth are positive given the
current level of public debt and the
projected government budget surpluses.
In conjunction with the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles, the US
dollar was introduced as the legal tender of
the BES islands as of January 1, 2011.
Curaçao and St. Maarten continued the use of
the Antillean guilder pending the
introduction of the Caribbean Guilder.
Solidify our position
During the year 2010, Girobank experienced a change in the composition of
its ownership with the International
Investment Group LLC (“IIG”) acquiring the
shares, previously held by the Totalbank
Group. IIG is a leading investment
management firm based in New York, USA. APNA
and the Government of Curaçao continue to
hold a share in Girobank. With the change in
ownership came a change in the composition
of our Supervisory Board of Directors. Mrs.
Maria Graciela Gill La Rosa, Mr. José
Santiago Nuñez Gómez, Mr. Bernardo Avalos
Gutierrez and Mr. Rafael Gill Ramirez
resigned from the Board of Directors as of
July 19, 2010. During the year, we welcomed
to the board, Mr. Ivan de Windt (Chairman),
Mr. Willem van Bokhorst (Vice chairman), Mr.
Martin Silver and Mr. David Hu. The year
2010 also brought a change in management.
Mr. Manuel Suena Cagiao, Managing Director,
and Mr. Victor Gill Ramirez, Managing
Director, departed from the bank as of
December 1, 2010 and July 19, 2010,
respectively and we welcomed Mr. Stephen
Capella, Managing Director, to the
management team of Girobank. We would like
to express our gratitude to our departing
Board members and members of the management
team for their invaluable efforts during
these past years.
In 2010 Girobank further solidified its position in the local markets.
The Bank’s total loan portfolio increased by
25% and its capital ratio is robust at 10%.
The Bank’s net income after taxes rose by
35% to ANG 15.9 million. Consumers, small
and medium-size businesses are vital for the
growth and stability of our economy.
Girobank is ready to assist clients in
furthering their goals within the scope of a
sound financial plan. In 2010, our portfolio
of consumer loans grew by 78%. We continued
to offer customized solutions to our
corporate clients based on the principal
goal that not only do we want to be the
lender of choice but foremost we want to be
your trusted business advisor. The trust
placed in Girobank by the corporate
community is reflected in the growth of our
corporate loan portfolio of 20%.
We enhanced our risk management framework, which resulted in an
improvement of the quality of our loan
portfolio. Our income statement reveals that
our net interest margin grew by 13%. This
increase is mostly driven by a decrease in
the bank’s interest expenses. We have seen a
significant reduction in the interest rates,
internationally but also locally. We have
passed these benefits to our customers in
the form of lower lending rates. Despite the
significant increase of our loan portfolio
(25%), our interest income increased by only
2%. We believe that satisfied customers will
become loyal advocates of Girobank. Despite
the significant increase in business and the
opening of additional branches, our
operating expenses decreased by 3%. The
bank’s efficiency ratio improved by 30 basis
points.
Committed to our client’s financial stability
At the core of our business as a bank, stands our commitment to our
clients. The financial stability of our
clients is our number one priority. Girobank
continued to promote saving as a way to
achieve long term financial stability.
Staying true to our principals, we launched
the bank’s consumer mortgage program
starting at a very competitive rate of 5%.
Excessive rainfall caused quite some damage
on various parts of our island. As part of
our commitment to the community, we
temporarily reduced interest rates by 50%
for those who suddenly found themselves in
need of a loan to cover unexpected repairs
and reconstruction.
Pay it forward
A strong community is the cornerstone to economic growth. That is why we
will continue to support community
development programs and volunteerism of our
staff. Our youth savings plan “Oinki”,
celebrated its fifth year of existence. To
celebrate this fact, we chose to make
donations to the Caribbean Youth Foundation,
the SOHK foundation, the
Bruder Pius House and the
Public Library in Curaçao and FESBO in
Bonaire.
Girobank is a strong advocate of investment in education as a means to
further the development of our community.
Girobank’s scholarship foundation,
“Fundashon Bo Motivashon Nos Kontribushon”,
(Your Motivation, Our Contribution)
continued to provide financial support to
nine students of which two are pursuing a
college degree and seven a high school
degree. We are proud to report that during
the year, one of our scholarship recipients
obtained a medical degree.
Mobile banking: your branch anytime,
anywhere
We live in a world where services must be available anytime, anywhere.
Our products and services aim to fit today’s
mobile lifestyle. Currently, the most widely
used phone application is the “short
messaging services” or “SMS”. With this in
mind, we developed the SMS-based mobile
banking service. Girobank enables its
clients to monitor transactions on their
accounts by sending alerts seconds after
such transaction took place. You can also
access your account balance from the
convenience of your mobile phone.
Outlook 2011
We believe that 2011 will be a year of many opportunities. The projected
budget surplus of ANG 50 million provides a
unique opportunity for the Government to
intensify investments in physical
infrastructure, improvements of the
educational system and socio-economic
projects. We encourage the Government to
continue its efforts to implement tax
reform, eliminate bureaucratic red-tape, and
implement measures to improve the investment
climate, control health care spending and
reform the social security system.
Our vision for Girobank is simple. It is the collective effort of the
Girobank team working together to offer the
right solutions for our clients; customers
entrusting us with their new ventures or
needs; staff choosing to build their careers
here because they believe this is the best
workplace; and community leaders
acknowledging that Girobank is a vital
business partner to drive their success. Our
challenge is to help all of the
aforementioned stakeholders achieve their
goals and realize their dreams.
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our Shareholders and
Supervisory Directors for their support; to
our employees for their outstanding effort
and commitment to the bank; and especially
to our reason for existence - our clients-
whose confidence and support are of immense
value and essential for the growth and
profitability of our bank.
Managing Board of Girobank N.V.,
Curaçao, March 3, 2011
Eric L. Garcia
Stephen A. Capella
President and CEO
Managing Director and CFOO
Read our Financial highlights 2010 please click here
Read our Financial highlights 2009 please click here
Read our Financial highlights 2008 please click here
Read our Financial highlights 2007 please click here
Read our Financial highlights 2006 please click here
Read our Financial highlights 2005 please click here |
