26/07/98
Belize Government refutes claim of US mortgage
company BanCorp
Reports from America say that the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission has begun an investigation into claims made by a company called Pan
American BanCorp. after the government of Belize published a statement
disassociating itself from the claims of the company.
Pan American BanCorp. published a notice on the World Wide Web in which it
claimed that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Affordable Housing Group Ltd., has
become the first foreign company licensed to conduct mortgage banking in Belize.
The Internet release claims that the first 800 of some 6,000 mortgage applications
from Belize citizens are being processed and that home foundations have already
been laid for a programme that plans to fund $10 million in mortgages monthly,
beginning immediately.
The report claims that the Government of Belize is backing the programme, but the
Ministry of Housing and Home Affairs this week issued a statement saying it is "in
no way associated with this company". Nor has it given the company any
mortgage guarantees. The Ministry of Housing says it is not aware of any mortgage
applications being processed, nor of any license being issued to the company by
the Central Bank to conduct mortgage banking.
"While the government of Belize welcomes foreign investment," a Ministry
spokesman said, "it will give its official approval to an investment project only after
it has satisfied itself of the viability and genuineness of the project."
Pan American BanCorp lists the name of its Chief Executive Officer as John
Schmitz, and gives the Belize City address of Affordable Housing Group Limited
as No. 2 King Street, which is/or was the street address of the Glenn Godfrey law
firm.
The claims of Pan American BanCorp, published under the Yahoo Finance
banner, states inter alia: "Pan American BanCorp will receive an origination fee in
Belize approximating 5 percent and an annual servicing fee of 2 percent on the
mortgage portfolio balance - a very lucrative fee for originating warehousing and
servicing government guaranteed mortgages." |
