Both the List?n Diario and the El Caribe newspapers reported today that the demand for the new issue of Central Bank savings certificates has been tepid at best. According to El Caribe, the placement of the RD$5 billion in certificates met with mere questions from potential buyers, instead of transactions. Of the six desks that had been set up to handle sales of bank certificates to the buying public, only two were in operation when the reporters visited. On Sunday, President Mej?a said that the money generated from these sales could be used to pay some of the government debts. Nevertheless, the monetary authorities have maintained that the motivation for issuing the certificates was to reduce the amount of currency in circulation and thereby stabilize the exchange rate. As carried in prominent articles in all the major papers, the certificates have prompted serious questions as to the legality of this type of direct sale to the public. Article 26 of the Monetary Code specifies that the Central Bank must use intermediate agencies (commercial banks) to place certificates or other commercial paper. The measure was also criticized for the above-market rates offered by the Central Bank that are expected to make money available for loans to the private sector even more expensive.