Popular Takes Over
Coopemex Loans Collection. But Is It Legal?
Customers of the failed Coopemex are
screaming for the head of the
Superintendencia de Entidades Financieras (Sugef)
that allowed the co-operative to fail and
now face having to pay off their debts, but
cannot get their hands on their savings.
The Sugef, the banking watchdog and
regulator, say the customers failed to
protect their interests and now are facing
financial hardship as the Coopemex debt
collection was passed in the hands of the
Banco Popular y de Desarrollo Comunal (Banco
Popular).
Experts in the field say that the Popular
collection is illegal, claiming the banking
laws do not allow for the transfer of debt
or any changes to the original contract
(loan).
However, Gerado Porras, general manager of
the Popular, the smallest of the three state
banks, is acting within the law.
Coopemex was intervened the week earlier by
the Sugef after it found irregularities with
its loan portfolio. The president of
Coopemex and several key managers have been
arrested and are facing criminal charges of
fraud.
Customers blame the Sugef for the failure of
the co-operative. It is the Sugef's
responsibility to monitor the activities of
financial institutions, rather than just act
when the bank or co-operative is already
dead in the water.
Many relate today's banking industry to that
of the 1980's where there was no or minimal
banking regulations, leading to the failure
of financial institutions and the 1990's
failure of the Banco Anglo.
The Sugef was specifically created to avoid
bank failures.
The Coopemex has some 80.000 depositors with
average deposit amounts under ˘100.000
colones.
Some 8.000 customers have guaranteed loans
that are now in the hands of the Popular,
but do not have access to their savings at
Coopemex. The majority of these customers
have automatic payments deducted from their
accounts, which are not available.
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