Following the approval of the Bitcoin Law in El Salvador by the members of the Legislative Assembly, which creates a legal framework that recognizes this digital currency as legal tender in the country, the IMF warns that financial and legal risks have arisen.
The Salvadoran banking system is maintaining stable performance, despite an operating environment deteriorated by a recent increase in the risk rating for sovereign debt.
From a report entitled "Panorama one of El Salvador's Largest Banks in the First Quarter 2017" by Fitch Ratings:
Stable Performance in Difficult Operating Environment
In response to rumors of more interventions into financial institutions, the Superintendency of Banks in Panama says that they are unfounded, highlighting the strength of the banking system.
From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Banks of Panama:
The Superintendency of Banks in Panama made public knowledge, that as a result of taking operational and administrative control of Balboa Bank & Trust and its subsidiaries a number of comments and news stories have arisen which do not have any foundation regarding future actions that may be taken by this institution on other banks, or conditions of vulnerability of some institutions in our banking system.
The microcredit portfolio in Latin America and the Caribbean is worth over $40 billion, is awarded by more than 1,000 institutions, and reaches more than 22 million customers.
From a statement issued by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
A new report documents significant expansion of microcredit in Latin America and the Caribbean
GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador - Microcredit in Latin America and the Caribbean remains strong and continues its expansion of the last decade, experiencing an increase in their number of customers, a variety of institutions and a downward trend in interest rates according to new data released here today by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the IDB Group.
The new supervisory body merges the former Superintendency of Securities, Pensions and Finances.
Entitled the Superintendencia del Sistema Financiero (Financial Superintendency System), the body will presided over by Victor Ramirez, who served as chief of the superintendency of the same name.
The purpose of the institution is to supervise financial groups more efficiently using a single organization, rather than three different ones.