This 2015 Article IV Consultation highlights that Aruba has been recovering from a severe double-dip recession. The economy faced two major shocks over the past five years-the global financial crisis and shutdown of the Valero oil refinery in 2012. After a strong recovery in 2013 with growth...

The Dutch insurance sector is undergoing further consolidation, the life sector has been steadily shrinking over the last two decades, and the non-life market is relatively saturated. Sales of new life products, especially individual life business, have decreased since the early 2000s, putting...

There is terrorism and terrorist financing (TF) risk, but it appears limited based on available information. The Netherlands has criminalized money laundering (ML) fully in line with the requirements under the Vienna and Palermo Conventions. The Netherlands has a long-standing financial...

The government’s plans to reform the tax system and administration are well founded. The Central Bank of Aruba is to be commended for its prudent management of monetary policy, as demonstrated by the continued credibility and strength of the peg to the U.S. dollar, buttressed by a robust...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the housing prices, consumption, and the household debt overhang in the Netherlands. Deflated housing prices that were fueled by robust borrowing often leave in their wake households with heavy debt burden. This “debt overhang” forces households into...

KEY ISSUES Addressing the Household Debt Overhang The economy is slowly emerging from its balance sheet recession. Housing prices have steadied, exports are rising on expanding global trade, but consumption continues to contract on an annual basis, held down by household deleveraging and weak...