(QCOSTARICA) Scotiabank reported this Friday, August 28, the layoff of 98 employees and the closure of five branches in Costa Rica.
The bank did not provide specific details, saying only it as a result of a process of analysis of the economic reality of the country.
“We carefully analyzed the national economic context in order to remain productive and competitive to continue offering quality products and services to our clients,” the bank said in a statement.
The Canadian-based bank had, as of last July, a payroll of 1,733, according to the registry of the Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras (Sugef). – the banking regulator.
“For the people who will ultimately be affected, we are deploying different efforts to support them in this transition, faithful to our principles and our commitment to treat our people in a fair, equitable and respectful manner,” said the entity.
The branches that are closed are Curridabat, in Pinares; Forum, in Santa Ana; the Juan Santamaría airport, in Alajuela; San Francisco de Dos Ríos, San José and iPlaza Carolina, in Montes de Oca.
These agencies had been temporarily closed for several weeks due to the pandemic. The Bank informed that customers in these areas will be notified of the final closure.
“We watch over the strengthening of the business; looking for optimizations, digital efficiencies and their sustainability to offer our clients a value proposition with many more benefits,” affirmed Scotiabank.
As of last July, the entity reported a net profit of ¢1.499 billion colones, a drop of 80%, compared to the ¢7.672 billion profit for the same period of 2019, according to the Sugef.
On July 9, the entity announced the closure of credit cards to 20,000 customers to comply with the new interest rate caps, imposed by usury law.
