The social function of the savings and loans associations has been substituted greatly by the market and profitability of their operations, although they were originally created to help solve the housing deficit in the DR, according to a report by the weekly newspaper, Clave. The system holds 18.8% of commercial papers issued by the Central Bank, a way to increase their profits. At the close of 2005, the credit portfolio of the savings and loans associations was merely 35.5% of their total assets, according to statistics by the Superintendence of Bank’s webpage. Of this amount, only a part goes to mortgage loans in account of the system being able to diversify their portfolios for the last 20 years, with investments in areas of higher profitability. At December 2005, the system had RD$1.05 invested in the Central Bank for every RD$1 on its credit portfolio.