The Central Bank of Suriname (Dutch: Centrale Bank van Suriname, referred to as CBvS), established on April 1, 1957, is the central bank of the Republic of Suriname. Its headquarters are located in Baramalipo, the capital of the Republic of Suriname. The current governor is Gilmore Hofdrade, who took office in September 2010.

History

A currency issued by the Central Bank of Suriname in 1985

Suriname began to circulate metal coins for private transactions in 1679 as Dutch Guiana. However, later the colonial authorities gradually found that the use of metal coins for transactions was very expensive. So starting in 1757, the authorities issued a paper "card" with a face value, seal and signature as currency. During that period, some money was also in circulation from the suzerain country of the Netherlands, but issuing money in these ways was cumbersome for the authorities. By 1829, the colonists established the West-Indische Bank in Baramalipo to issue money, but unfortunately, the bank only operated until 1848 and was disbanded. Soon after, in 1863, slavery was abolished, the working population increased significantly, and the economy grew significantly. At this time, the establishment of a currency issuing institution was necessary. So on January 19, 1865, Dutch Simon Abendanon used private capital to establish the Bank of Suriname (Dutch: De Surinaamsche Bank, referred to as DSB) in the local area, as a local quasi-central bank institution, to start issuing currency. After World War II, under the guidance of the United Nations resolution, Dutch Guiana was planned as an overseas autonomous province by the Netherlands in 1954. After Suriname gained autonomy, the monetary system needed to be changed. By 1956, the self-government issued the Central Bank Act 1956 (Dutch: Bankwet 1956). The following year, on April 1, 1957, the Central Bank of Suriname was officially established and legally took over the currency issuance rights of the Bank of Suriname. Later, Suriname officially gained independence from the Netherlands on November 25, 1975, and the Central Bank of Suriname has continued to this day.

Objectives and Functions

Objectives

The Central Bank of Suriname is the highest monetary authority of the Republic of Suriname and the supervisor of the financial industry. Its core objective is to maintain the purchasing power of the Surinamese dollar through monetary policy and foreign exchange reserve accumulation.

Functions

According to the provisions of the Bank Act of 1956 of the Republic of Suriname, the functions assigned to the Central Bank of Suriname are:

• to maintain the stability of the value of the national currency, the Surinamese dollar;
• to maintain the circulation of the Surinamese dollar in the country and gradually promote non-cash payments;
• to promote the stable development of the banking and credit industry;
• to supervise the banking, credit, insurance and foreign currency exchange business;
• to promote the development and facilitation of foreign trade transactions in Suriname;
• to promote the balanced development of the national economy of Suriname;
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Organizational Structure

The Central Bank of Suriname has 416 employees at all levels as of 2013. Its internal top management department is the board of directors, and there are several departments under the board of directors. The following is its organizational chart:

President Board of Directors Government Resident Commissioner Supervisory Board Director General Affairs Department Office of the President International Relations Department Internal Affairs Department Accounting Department Overseas Affairs Department Cashier Department Financial marekt Department Global procurement Trade Regulations Department Archives Department Library Internal Audit Department Public Relations Department Legal Department Budget Planning Department Information Statistics Department Human Resources Gold Laboratory Research Department Training Department Information Technology Department

Past Governors

List of Past Governors of the Central Bank of Suriname #Name Year in office Year out of office 1 Hurun Mann R.W. Groenman April 1957 October 1961 2 Victor Maximiliaan de Miranda July 1963 December 1980 3 Jules Sedney December 1980 January 1983 4 Henk Otmar Goedschalk January 1985 January 1994 5 André Eugene Telting March 1994 December 1996 6 Henk Otmar Goedschalk January 1997 August 2000 André Eugene Telding September 2000 August 8 Gilmore Hofdrad [4] Gillmore Hoefdraad September 2010 in office