A bill in Costa Rica proposes allowing cooperatives to carry out activities which up until now were prohibited, such as the public offering of securities issues, administration of trusts, factoring and financial leases.
The Ministry of Finance and the National Council of Supervision of the Financial System (Conassif)is opposed to this bill. The substitute text received an endorsement from the Legislative plenary on November 28, and will now be sent for consultation and will then be discussed again in the Economic Affairs Committee.
A bill introduced in the Legislative Assembly proposes regulating cooperatives and credit associations whose savings range from $30 million to $92 million.
The bill, prepared by the Federation of Association of Savings and Credit Cooperatives of El Salvador (Fedecaces), proposes establishing a different regulation, more appropriate to the size and characteristics of these entities.
Unions are opposed to the legal reform which aims to extend the scope of the supervision of the Superintendent of Financial System over savings and loans cooperatives.
In the view of Julio Cesar Portillo, secretary of the board of the National Commission for credit unions in El Salvador and CEO of Co-Andes de R.L. ,"...
In the view of the union of cooperatives the Law on Social Solidarity Economy being discussed in Congress is unnecessary and will only create more bureaucracy and duplicity of functions.
More bureaucracy, confusion in the application of the laws governing cooperatives and duplication of functions is what will come from, if approved, the Social Economy Act, which is being promoted by the Solis administration.