Foreign banks look for key in Guatemala

“The zero tolerance policy has definitely made Guatemala a lot more attractive” Franco Uccelli, Bear Stearns

The country is a key missing link in international banks’ plans for a pan-regional central American presence. A year after two Guatemalan banks closed, causing a meltdown in confidence in the banking system, it appears that the country’s financial institutions have finally learnt their lesson.

Alejandro Garcia of Fitch says: “The regulators realized, after the crisis, that they had to be more proactive than just reactive to give people the peace of mind they wanted in the banking system.”