Senate committees debate Banco de la Ciudad bill

Senate committees of Economy and Investment, Budget and Finance, and Justice and Criminal matters, debating today a ruling party's bill that proposes funds from future court cases to be moved out of the Banco de la Ciudad to the Banco de la Nación, but did nor clear it for debate on the floor.

Juan Carlos Fabreca, president of Banco de La Nación Argentina and his counterpart at the Banco de La Ciudad, Federico Sturzenegger, were summoned to give their thoughts on the bill at the Senate.

Sturzenegger has been very outspoken and critic over the government’s proposal -which was already passed by the Lower House- by saying it would “destroy” the Banco de La Ciudad.

“The Banco de la Ciudad is a role model for public banks, one that Kirchnerites wish they had. It’s a progressive bank and one that works well. It’s the only one that has offices in the shanty-towns and hands out mortgage loans to all income-level people, and long-term loans to companies”, Sturzenegger had said in an interview to a local radio in the beginning of the month.

The Kirchnerite bill was written by Deputy Diana Conti, and establishes that the law cases funds currently deposited in Banco de la Ciudad will move to Banco de la Nación Argentina, once the bill is approved. Likewise, it remarks that “depending on the case, the money, titles and securities seized must be deposited into Banco Nación.”