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Supporting the Peso means......
Colombia Finance Institutions May Post No Profits as Rates Rise
Bogota, June 9 (Bloomberg) -- If interest rates stay at current high levels, it's ''very probable'' that Colombia's financial institutions won't post any profits this quarter, La Republica newspaper reported, citing Jorge Enrique Amaya, president of the savings and loans company Granahorrar SA.
Because of the high market rates, Granahorrar isn't granting any credit, Amaya said. Meanwhile, Jose Maria Ayala, president of Banco Ganadero SA, Colombia's second biggest bank, said the bank hasn't restricted its credit although it has raise rates for short-term credit ''to levels at which no one will take out any loans,'' the newspaper said.
In a bid to rein in the slide of the peso, which has lost 6.2 percent of its value so far this year, Colombia's central bank began to limit its repurchase agreements on May 27, causing rates to surge to 60 percent yesterday, from 30 percent last month.
10:01:50 06/09/1998 |
