According to statements by Jos? Lois Malkum, the head of the Central Bank, the properties of Baninter will be sold off before they lose value in the marketplace. Approached by reporters as he was leaving the Seventh Instructional Court of the National District, Malkum said there was a commission of officials of the Central Bank and the Monetary Board in charge of the sales. He said: ?We are talking in the short term.? After facing judge Eduardo S?nchez Ortiz for nearly four hours, Malkum was patient with the press. He said that the haste was natural because ?with each passing day some of these properties can lose value. This is normal?? The transaction would include the List?n Diario, Ultima Hora and Financiero newspapers, a radio network of over 50 stations and several television channels. Also up for grabs is an insurance company, a photography sales and processing firm, a loan service, and a cable company. Malkum was firm in saying that he would extract every possible cent from each sale. ?May they cut my arm before I sign the sale of an asset of that group, if they do not repay the last cent to close the gap we have,? he said. The Central Bank governor quantified the gaping void left by the Baninter fiasco at RD$55 billion last week in a press conference.