Baninter problems

Adrian Bye

Bronze
Jul 7, 2002
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Guys,

After reading the DR1 newsletter today about BanInter, I thought I'd go down there to see if I could withdraw my money. Due to reading the DR1 newsletter I've been cautious with the local economy. Thanks Rob!

I arrived 1 hour before the bank closed. There was a line of people there which will take them about 1.5-2 hours to handle, it was the biggest line I've seen there. Everyone was waiting patiently.

I asked one of my friends who works at BanInter what was happening. She said there have been a lot of people trying to take out money since Tuesday. She also told me that the best time to go in is 12:30-2:30. Apparently almost nobody is in the bank during this time. She said bank opening time was the worst, since there are a ton of people there then.

I agree with a comment Scott made a while ago, that the guarantees from the Central bank are probably good - but what if something happens to the central bank?

For now I'm going to limit my risk by closing my USD account. But I think I'll leave my pesos accounts open.

What has been the experience of other people?

Adrian

Edited to include:

P.S. Here's a press release about what is going on:

( BW)(NY-FITCH-RATINGS/BANINTE) Fitch Dwngrs Banco Intercontinental Indiv Rtg to 'E' from 'D'

http://tinyurl.com/99dj
 
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Escott

Gold
Jan 14, 2002
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Adrian...

I haven't thought that dollar accounts in DR Banks were good in a few years. Fear that they will convert them to Pesos and who knows what will happen with them.

Pesos I think would be safe but not considering holding up to the dollar.

I feared Baninter for quite a while. They were offering 2x the interest in dollars as other banks. Thats scarey.

Scott

PS>Coming to dinner on the 19th in Sosua?
 

Adrian Bye

Bronze
Jul 7, 2002
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Scott,

I think you're right on all counts.

I went back to BanInter today. The deal they're offering is:

a) take all the money right now in cash, but in pesos. They offer an exchange rate of 24. The best rate I can get in Santiago right now is 23.5, so its not too bad. (yeah I'm sure everyone on the coast can get 25 or so, but this is the best I can get here).

b) submit a request, and they'll get USD delivered the week following.

I decided to take the money now in pesos. It took a while (2 hours), but worked fine in the end. While I was there some people were taking out fairly large amounts of money. The guy in front of me withdrew over RD$500,000 in cash. Another guy wanted to redeem his CD's for RD$1.6M.

They waived their usual commissions, and I felt like they were making an extra effort to ensure I got my money. They also made sure I knew that they were basically being run now by the Central Bank. You could consider me a satisified customer, I got what I wanted. I'm still keeping my credit card & checking account there. But no more USD.

A friend who lived in Argentina before the crash told me yesterday that some people were changing all their pesos into USD and depositing it in cash into security boxes at the bank. He didn't understand at the time, but now he does. If I couldn't keep money offshore, I'd probably do the same here.

One additional note: I called two places about buying USD. Neither of them had any available, neither did BanInter.

As for the dinner - thanks, but as you know, I'm not one for big parties. I'm sure you'll all have a great time though.

Adrian

P.S. My residency came through last week - it was a piece of cake - and I now have a cedula which doesn't expire until 2009! If you decide you want me to get yours, let me know.
 

Escott

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Jan 14, 2002
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Heck I got mine about 2 plus weeks ago. All done thanks. Got pretty good service. Went one day and was home on the North Coast for dinner. I also got me DR drivers license for kicks and giggles. Now I never have to leave the country:)

Need to get a new Cedular though. Next time in S. D. I will impose on Pib to take me there. Hell that is just another excuse to see Pib anyway! LOL

Scott
 

BushBaby

Silver
Jan 1, 2002
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Hey Scott,
Don't want to stop you going to S.D. to see Pib but ..... they've just opened a Residencia office up here in PoP where you might be able to handle it from. It's based in the office section alongside the police station!! "She that must be Obeyed" will be gong in tomorrow to see how easy it is to get her Residencia renewed, so will check out if cedulas can be done from here too.
See you Saturday - Grahame.
 

Cap'n Jon

New member
Apr 13, 2003
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Excuse the intrusion, but judging from the responses to this thread, it seems you can get residency papers taken care of without using a lawyer...Is that correct or am I being naive? Is that possible with temporary residency as well as permanent?Thanks
 

Kiteman

New member
Aug 25, 2002
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Cap'n Jon,

you are correct, you do not need a lawyer do get your residency. I got mine myself and most of the foreigners I know got theirs themselves. Do a search on the archives and you can read more than you probably ever wanted to know about how to proceed. It is not as difficult as people may lead you to believe and really is a good introduction on how such processes work in this country. I am constantly amazed at people who will not attempt to get their own residency but contemplate opening a business here. A word of advice: If you don't have the moxy to at least get your own residency in this country, don't even THINK about starting or running a business here!!
 

Cap'n Jon

New member
Apr 13, 2003
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Kiteman - Our moxy runneth over! We've dealt with officials in many Latin countries (Heck, I also had to deal with officials when I had a business in Afghanistan - talk about moxy!!) I just wasn't sure it was permitted. Many sites I've seen say you MUST have a lawyer. Personally, I would prefer not too. We understand the Latin way of conducting business and life in general, that is one strong reason we want to live in the DR. Thanks for your help. Jon