Dominican President Hipólito Mejía today called for the international financial community’s support to face a “domestic shock” triggered by an alleged case of fraud at one of the Dominican Republic’s leading commercial banks.
In a speech at the Inter-American Development Bank’s headquarters in Washington, DC, Mejía asked the IDB to head “a financial assistance package” to help the Dominican Republic in its efforts to “maintain a pattern of growth with stability and forge ahead with its economic and institutional reforms”.
During his visit to the IDB Mejía also met with officials from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
“The Dominican Republic has been one of the few success stories in the region. We hope to continue being one,” said Mejía, in reference to the high economic growth rates his country achieved in recent years.
Dominican banking regulators took control of Banco Intercontinental last week after charging top executives with various economic crimes.
In a meeting with Dominican business leaders who are traveling with Mejía, IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias said: “The Dominican Republic is not on its own. We are working closely with the World Bank and the IMF”.
Iglesias pointed out that other Latin American countries have suffered similar financial blows, but that in the Dominican case the problem seemed to be concentrated in a single institution, rather than spread across the whole banking system.