Journalist Juan Bolivar D?az writes in Hoy newspaper?s Sunday edition that these are tough times for responsible journalists. He mentions the case of Baninter as having an effect on the devaluation of the peso and highlights that already the government has had to come to the rescue of the institution with RD$10 billion (from September 2002 to March 2003), making the problem of interest to everyone.
?The management of a bank, in this case one of the largest in the country, cannot be a private affair, because its efficiency or inefficiency is a determining factor for thousands of people, and because its downfall due to bad administration or irresponsible investments is costly to the entire financial system and nation.?
Bolivar D?az criticized the fact that the deficiencies were hidden by the authorities, who maintained strict rules regarding the spread of rumors. ?But these were well substantiated rumors,? he says.
D?az says that the lessons to be learned should contribute to reducing the risks in the future and insists that the authorities be transparent in their explanations of what and why this happened.
The journalist is especially critical of what he calls a lack of responsibility on behalf of the Superintendence of Banks and specifically the promotion of its Superintendent to the post of Administrative Secretary of the Presidency. ?Obviously, we sustain an immense bureaucratic apparatus that does not serve the purpose of supervising the financial institutions and avoiding licentiousness,? he writes.
In the case of Baninter, he says the excesses were obvious and for years observers questioned the apparent abundance. Those called to supervise and enforce regulations, however, seemed to look the other way and corrective actions were not taken in time.
D?az says that the case brings forth again a problem worse than political patronage ? that which he calls profiteering from politics, and by which certain individuals invest large capital in the candidacies of politicians, and collect their compensation at a later date in a thousand different ways.
D?az also mentions the blank check Baninter extended to artistic and sports events and the fact that the bank was the country?s biggest private advertiser.