The Central Bank’s Monetary Board has announced a series of new resolutions. Firstly, it has assigned RD$400 million to the bank’s Departmento de Desarrollo y Financiamiento de Projectos (DEFINPRO), to be used in the last four months of 1996, for the finance of productive sectors, and the amount was distributed as follows: agriculture RD$150 million and manufacturing RD$250 million.
Secondly, the Monetary Board will reduce the interest on loans made by DEFINPRO by 4%; the previous rate 14% for loans to intermediaries is now 10%, with the same margin of 4.5%, and the end borrower now paying 14.5%.
Thirdly, the Fondo de Inversiones para el Desarrollo Económico (FIDE) and Fondo para el Desarrollo de la Infrastructura Turística (INFRATUR) will be reactivated, with low interest rates for development finance, via intermediary financial institutions.
The fourth and final resolution, authorizes the issue of participation certificates by the Central Bank up to RD$800 million at a 14% interest rate with a minimum requirement of RD$10,000.