The President of the Chamber of Deputies, H?ctor Rafael Peguero M?ndez [Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) – Independencia], yesterday declared the Senate bill for a Financial and Monetary Code passed earlier this week to be "stillborn." Speaking on the television current affairs show "Hola," Peguero M?ndez said that the Senate only passed the bill "to give the appearance that they are working" while knowing full well that the Chamber of Deputies could not act on it in the ten days remaining before a new legislative session begins. He noted that, despite promises of Senate President Ram?n Alburquerque (PRD-Monte Plata) to the contrary, the Senate has yet to formally transmit the bill to the lower chamber. A bill "of this magnitude" requires careful consideration and consensus, he asserted. The bill will have to be reintroduced in the next legislative session. The Code would change the rules governing the Central Bank, commercial banks, savings and loan associations, interest rates, exchange controls, financial transactions, repatriation of profits, issuance of public debt instruments (such as bonds), etc.
