A comprehensive audit of all Dominican banks is being carried out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Superintendent of Banks Julio Cross. In the first of three phases, dozens of IMF officials, in coordination with local regulatory personnel, have examined the accounts and assets of all commercial banks, aimed at preventing ?another Baninter?. Although the results of the first phase have not yet been released, Cross is confident there will be no irregularities detected. The general goal of the audit, whose second stage will last until February 2004, is to achieve transparency and eliminate bad practice in the financial sector. Julio Cross told El Caribe that the Baninter collapse was a ?national tragedy? whose negative impact will be felt for many years on. He also observed that there would be positive outcomes of the collapse if it led to more effective supervision of the banking sector in the Dominican Republic ? something ?that did not exist in the past?. In his opinion, there was no complicity of the authorities in the Baninter fraud, but certainly some ?permissiveness? on the government?s part. The banking superintendent stressed that the case was not unique to the Dominican Republic, citing examples in other parts of the world, including that of Enron and a recent Japanese bank?s collapse. Cross, whose opinions are supported by other representatives of the banking sector, also listed what he described as three pieces of good news: the sale of Bancredito; the successful Scotiabank buyout of Baninter; and that several reputable international banks are reportedly planning to set up operations in the Dominican Republic. This, concluded Cross, demonstrates that it is widely accepted that the Baninter collapse was an ?isolated case?.