QCOSTARICA – The government of Rodrigo Chaves is insisting on the sale of Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), for which reason, in May, it will present a new bill to the Legislative Assembly.
The original bill was rejected by the Economic Affairs Commission mainly on the opposition to the sale by the legislative benches of the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN), with the biggest block of legislators, 19; the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC), with 9 seats; and the Partido Nueva Republica (PNR) with 7.
The ruling party, the Partido Progreso Social Democrático (PPSD), holds only 10 of of the legislative seats.
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During its process, the original bill also had negative criteria from the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR), the manager of the State bank, and its workers union.
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Among the inconsistencies pointed out by the CGR is the formalization of the sale, that the ministerial portfolio responsible for issuing the regulations, the objectives and the maximum term in the sale was not established, in addition, a destination is not defined for the sale of assets by the Ministerio de Hacienda (Ministry of Finance).
The PPSD fraction leader, Pilar Cisneros, confirmed the government’s intent to present a new initiative.
What changes will the new project have to sell the BCR?
The Minister of Finance, Nogui Acosta, stated that the observations made to the previous plan will be taken into account, but would not speculate further.
The government’s objective is to reduce debt by selling assets.
According to the most recent fiscal figures, half of Costa Rica’s debt matures in 5 years.
The Banco de Costa Rica is a state-owned commercial bank that operates in Costa Rica. With an equity of US$806,606,710 and assets of US$7,607,483,881, the bank has established itself as one of the strongest banks in both Costa Rica and Central America.