Mexican bankers back financial-sector overhaul

Acapulco (Mexico), April 26 (IANS/EFE) The ABM group representing Mexico's banks said it supports the general objectives of a financial-sector overhaul that the government initially planned to present this week.

In a press conference prior to the inauguration of the 76th Banking Convention in this Pacific resort city Thursday, ABM president Jaime Ruiz Sacristan said it was only this week that industry leaders had seen an "outline, a summary, of the initiative".

The financial sector supports the idea of creating conditions for boosting lending with the ultimate aim of spurring economic growth, he said.

The bankers also said they were not concerned about Mexico's economic situation and said the country was on a path to stable growth with a healthy financial system.

President Enrique Pena Nieto postponed plans to present the overhaul plan after opposition leaders, citing alleged vote-buying by the governing PRI party ahead of July elections in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz and the lack of an official response to the complaints, said they would boycott the event.

It had initially been scheduled for Tuesday.

In audio recordings made public last week by the opposition PAN party, PRI officials in Veracruz could be heard discussing how they could use the distribution of anti-poverty aid in the PRI-governed state to guarantee the loyalty of future voters.

The delay in unveiling the financial-sector overhaul will not affect its content, Ruiz Sacristan said Thursday, adding that the administration would likely convene a special session of Congress to consider the proposal, given that the current session ends April 30.

The government Wednesday held a meeting with opposition leaders in which they pledged to work to prevent social programs from being used for political ends and continue making progress on Pena Nieto's reform agenda.

--IANS/EFE

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