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The Superintendent of Guatemalan Banks, Edgar Barquín, said that the purpose of this instrument would be to compensate for the likely loss of foreign credit lines.
According to an article in prensalibre.com, "credit lines granted by correspondent banks to local ones in the past 15 months have fallen by $130 million,” and "there are now nearly $1.6 billion in lines of credit."
Source: prensalibre.com
More on this topic
April 2009
Up to and including April 9, the total growth (including loans in local and foreign currency) was 8.3%, the lowest in the last two years.
Despite measures taken by monetary authorities to keep the money market liquid in order to stimulate credit, financing to companies has not reactivated. Directors of the Industrial Bank and G&T Continental state that they are receiving up to 20% fewer loan requests.
February 2011
Banking liquidity is above levels seen in recent years.
The president of the Banco de Guatemala, Edgar Barquin, said the bank plans for this year an increase in bank credit of 12.2%.
"Luis Lara, manager of Industrial Bank, said credit demand of individuals and companies have recovered since October 2010 and coincides with the growth of this variable estimated at 12 percent because it is expected for the economy to recover after the effects of the global financial crisis", reports the article in Elperiodico.com.gt.
February 2009
70% of the Foreign credit lines in the Guatemalan Banking System were renegotiated under new conditions.
In an article published in sigloxxi.com, Édgar Barquín, the Superintendent of Banks, explained that banks "have been able to defer or restructure them [the credit lines] to maintain the financing used by local banks in productive sector loans" and that the country "has been fortunate in the way correspondent banks have responded."
October 2010
In the last ten years the number of banks operating in the country fell by 52.6%.
According to information from the Superintendency of Banks (SIB), in 1999 there were 38 banks operating in the country, dropping to 18 in 2010. In contrast, sector earnings rose 1736.7%.
Bankers and financial analysts agree today that the financial system is stronger.
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