The board of directors of Bancomercio revealed that it had approved the sale of 51 percent of the bank’s shares to Banco Central Hispano of Spain (BCH). Bancomercio’s president, José Ureña, told the press that BCH is investing up to US$50 million to complete the purchase. The Spanish bank recently transferred ownership of one its branches in Puerto Rico to another Spanish bank, Banco de Santander, in a sale totaling US$290 million. At the same time, BCH is expanding its presence in South America where it had purchased stakes in banks in Peru and Chile in transactions involving several thousand million U.S. dollars.
Some Dominican banking analysts believe that this acquisition marks the beginning of a return of foreign banks into the Dominican financial market. Some even speculate that the Chase Manhattan Bank may soon resume business. The new investment law permits foreign banks to hold a majority stake in local banks or any other financial institutions. The Bank of Nova Scotia and the City Bank are the only foreign banks that are currently operating in the country.