Monetary Board of the Central Bank issued on Tuesday, 20 January, several rulings to restrict money in circulation in order to stop the demand for U.S. dollars that was forcing an increase in the price of the dollar. The measures are as follows: financial institutions must maintain a 10% solvency; freeze for 90 days on lending of the surplus of the legal reserve of banks; a ceiling on the use of commercial banking credit by government institutions; interest paid on Central Bank certificates of deposit is increased two points to 16%; exchange houses will be ruled by the same disposition of commercial banks that obliges them to sell to the Central Bank any surplus foreign exchange after 48 hours after receipt of same.
