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Savings & Pawn Bank of Curaçao:

The Orphans' Chamber and the Mortgage Banks were business institutions, and so not open to the common citizens, who had no place to deposit their small nest eggs, or to borrow money, especially since they usually lacked real estate to offer as collateral. Individuals were therefore at the mercy of unscrupulous moneylenders, who charged high interest rates. In 1846 the Curaçao Bank agreed, after much persuasion, to lend money against gold and silver objects, but imposed such a high minimum value for collateral (1000 Dutch guilders) that it continued to be out of the reach of the average islander.

In 1849 the Governor noted in his journal that the working class had no institution which encouraged them to be thrifty, or to help them save for their children's future, old age or contingencies. He decided to create a totally independent savings bank, and, after obtaining the statutes of a savings bank on another Caribbean island to use as a model, created the Savings Bank of Curaçao in 1850. Unlike most private banks, the Savings Bank was not a company run by shareholders, but rather a corporate body with members, and it clearly saw itself as a charitable organization, geared to the majority of the population. Savers could deposit as little as twenty-five guilder cents at a time.

A pawnshop associated with the bank accepted gold, silver and precious stones as pledges, in exchange for two thirds of their value. In 1854 the two institutions merged to form the Savings and Pawn Bank of Curaçao. It remained a charitable institution, with one vote per member, regardless of the number of shares a member had. Although half of the deposits were made by small scale savers, few of them actually belonged to the working class or poor; up to 1854 the average deposit was thirty-two guilders.

Slaves, especially those who had independent sources of income, such as ferry pilots (see Chapter 3), constituted an important group of savers, and held accounts in their own names. Some, concerned that their property could legally be taken by their masters, opened accounts in the names of third parties, often Catholic priests (although bank books record no instances where a master tried to appropriate his slave's savings). Numerous requests to open anonymous accounts were refused.

Following emancipation in 1863 the number of the bank's potential customers increased by several thousand, and the maximum weekly deposit was limited to fifty guilders per person, in anticipation of a major increase in liquidity; it was lowered to five guilders later that same year. To facilitate savings by newly independent rural blacks the bank's Administrative Board considered allowing authorities in outlying districts to regularly collect small sums from residents and send them to the bank's town office once a month; however this plan was never implemented.

Throughout the nineteenth century the bank kept relatively little ready cash in hand and quickly faced liquidity problems whenever savers made substantial withdrawals. In such times, the Curaçao Bank often stepped in. By 1875 the Savings Bank had been transformed from a largely philanthropic organization into a truly business-oriented bank and was able to successfully weather several potentially threatening situations, including the 1877 hurricane, which caused many clients to make withdrawals, and the periodic sudden devaluations of the various foreign currencies circulating on the island. In 1883 the bank experienced a serious crisis when an audit uncovered major shortages and inconsistencies; even after writing off a substantial major loss, however, the books remained in the black.

Throughout the twentieth century, the bank's fortunes paralleled those of the common man. The 1920s saw a significant rise in deposits, thanks to the prosperity and employment brought by Shell; the bank had some difficulty placing all the new money received. The 1930s saw significant withdrawals, as many workers left the island.

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Curaçao Chamber of Commerce & Industry