Background on the Accused Banks
The Mexican government is implementing a rigorous action of “sterilization” against three financial institutions accused by the U.S. Department of Treasury of money laundering. Although there are no concrete proofs yet, the Secretariat of Finance, led by Edgar Amador, and the National Banking and Securities Commission, headed by Jesús de la Fuente, have already intervened these institutions managerially.
This action is temporary to ensure the resources of savers and clients. On July 4th, the Secretariat of Finance decided to proceed further by withdrawing trusts from the accused banks and transferring them partially to Nafin.
Despite private companies beginning to migrate to other private institutions, it’s important to note that these two Mexican banks do not represent even 1% of the Mexican financial system. They also don’t pose a systemic risk due to their size and the amount of resources under administration and custody.
Government’s Preventive Measures
The Mexican government is taking all preventive measures to avoid any operational issues resulting from the severe reputational damage these two banks and a stock exchange have suffered.
On the same day, the Secretariat of Finance withdrew trusts from the banks accused by the U.S. Department of Treasury for money laundering.
The aim is to ensure continuity in the fiduciary business. This implies that trusts previously operating with CI Banco and Intercam will be partially transferred to Nafin and another part to other private institutions.
Simultaneously, a scheme will be implemented to facilitate the continuous transfer of fiduciary business to private financial institutions under conditions ensuring continuity, legality, and certainty for all system participants.
Recently, it was known that Invex and Actinver are among the financial institutions receiving some of these trusts. Lock Capital Solutions replaced CI Banco as a fiduciary and chose Invex, while Fibra Shop selected Actinver.
Reactions from the Banking Sector
Emilio Romano, president of the Mexican Banks Association (ABM), stated that according to information received from U.S. and Mexican authorities, only the three financial institutions mentioned are involved in these accusations.
Romano asserts that both the banks and the Mexican government are certain that the Mexican financial system is very solid, with double the required capitalization and liquidity.
He considers this a minor shock since the accused institutions do not represent even 1% of the system. The U.S. accusations, he says, do not affect these institutions’ operations in Mexico or even the fiduciary aspect.
So far, both the government and bankers have maintained a skeptical stance regarding U.S. accusations until concrete proofs are provided.
Coparmex’s Stance on Reducing the Workweek
Coparmex, the Mexican Employers’ Confederation led by Juan José Sierra, supports the reform aiming to reduce the workweek to 40 hours but with three specific conditions:
- Gradual implementation
- Creation of a tripartite committee for continuous evaluation on the effects of reducing work hours in the country and verifying if macroeconomic conditions justify maintaining the pace of change in work hours
- Phased implementation by sectors
Sierra reminds us that salary negotiations have allowed real wage increases over the years. He emphasizes that inflation, economic performance, impact on businesses, and social conditions are seriously analyzed annually.
This rigorous approach has led to over 150% real wage growth without causing inflation or job loss. The same experience should be applied to the 40-hour workweek proposal.
