Ecuadorian Congress Queries Bank Prez

Quito, Aug 23 (Prensa Latina) Ecuadorian Bank Superintendent Alfredo Vergara will appear before the Ecuadorian Congress Thursday under threat of dismissal for possible conspiracy with private financial entities.

Ecuadorian deputies, who absolved Vergara in a political trial last month, now accuse him of not regulating interest rates and permitting banking costs to remain high.

A committee of deputies Ramses Torres, Luis Almeida, Jaime Estrada, Ivan Ortiz and John Argudo question the high banking costs in Vergara's entity despite financial regulation legisaltaion.

John Argudo questioned Vergara s work for allowing financial institutions to determine interest rates and new costs for their services.

Nelson Aguirre, a legislator from Ecuadorian Dignidad Nacional, held Vergara responsible for the nepotism, including relatives of congressmen, and a similar accusation was made by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa in recent weeks.