OPINION: The bank of friends

The Savings Bank is a state bank, which is governed by the rules of the market as if it were another in the square. But there have been occasions when, because it is a state bank, some take advantage of it and its behavior ceases to be that of another bank to be the bank of friends. It is not something new, and there are cases that clearly illustrate how the criteria for granting loans or allowing questionable banking operations have been political, totally removed from the best interests of the bank and its account holders; they have even been abusive. These are cases, for example, in which citizens must be aware of the bank’s operations since they have the right to know whether or not the trust placed in its officials is abused. The shareholders of the Savings Bank and the National Bank of Panama are the citizens of this country, and as much as some officials wanted to hide behind bank secrecy, the management of the money of savers is not. It must be transparent because a bank must generate trust, and that is generated, precisely, by its collaborators. Without it, there will be no customers. And no one deposits a real in a bank that is perceived to be untrustworthy. LA PRENSA, Apr. 24.

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