The Association of Commercial Banks of the Dominican Republic (ABA) announced yesterday that with the approval of the second stage of the IMF Stand By Agreement, the second step of the ongoing banking reform would now proceed. The new Rules for Evaluating Assets will now go into force.
The ABA said that the banks had fulfilled all of the requisites that the IMF had laid out for them during the first stage of the negotiations, and the new goals set out in the second stage are expected to be met without too many problems since “the economy is beginning to show signs of stability and with a positive outlook towards the future.” Several indicators point in the right direction, according to the report in Hoy. Field surveys are showing a solvency index of 10.1%, exceeding the 10% laid out by the Monetary and Finance Law and well above the 8% recommended by the Basle Committee. Capital and legal funds have been increased by 57% from 2002 levels, now reaching RD$17 billion, up RD$6.371 billion in less than two years. And the banks continue to increase their reserves in order to withstand future risks.