The people of Ecuador are rising up to refound their country as a pluri-national homeland for all. This inspiring movement, with Ecuador's indigenous peoples at its heart, is part of the revolution spreading across the Americas, laying the groundwork for a new, fairer, world. Ecuador Rising aims to bring news and analysis of events unfolding in Ecuador to english speakers.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Ecuadorean government denies rumors of banking crisis

March 15, 2007, IHT
QUITO, Ecuador: The economy minister dismissed rumors that the country is descending into a banking crisis, telling Ecuadoreans on Thursday that their deposits are safe and the country's financial institutions are solvent.
Economy Minister Ricardo Patino's comments on Channel 8 television came after opposition lawmakers warned earlier this week that the new leftist government of President Rafael Correa could order banks to close.
"The government is going to look after your deposits," Patino said. "There is no need to worry. The economy is doing well."
Ecuadorean banking superintendent Alfredo Vergara told Channel 8: "We have three times the liquidity needed."
On Wednesday, Correa accused the opposition lawmakers — who were fired last week by an electoral court for allegedly interfering in a national referendum on whether to rewrite the constitution — of trying to "destabilize a government that is seeking the common good."

In March 1999, then-President Jamil Mahuad ordered banks to freeze half of deposits in a bid to avoid closing banks entirely amid a crippling economic crisis. The following January, in what many considered a last-ditch effort to rescue the economy from hyperinflation, Mahuad phased out the nation's sucre currency and adopted the U.S. dollar as the legal tender.

No comments:

Post a Comment