The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who until a few days ago called himself “the coolest dictator in the world” and who now says on his Twitter account that he is “Emperor of El Salvador”, decided a few months ago that bitcoin is legal tender, which puts Colombian banking, which represents more than 52% of the sector in that country, against an unprecedented experiment worldwide.
Bancolombia, Davivienda and Grupo Aval have had a strong presence in Central America for several years, but President Bukele’s experiment will force them to adapt to the new model.
(El Salvador already accepts bitcoin as its official currency).
For now BAC Credomatic bank, a subsidiary of Grupo Aval, sees the situation as an opportunity for the preparation of the financial industry in the field of cryptocurrencies, a reality that is generating changes worldwide and that has driven the work of central banks around the world to develop their own virtual sovereign currencies. , a radically different concept from cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin.
The bank ensures that it is complying with the regulatory environment for financial institutions defined in the Bitcoin Law of El Salvador, in force since September 9. The entity says that this is done in accordance with the standards of corporate governance, compliance and adherence to laws and regulations. “What we will offer our clients is the possibility of paying their credit obligations in bitcoin, with the option of automatic convertibility to dollars to settle bank transactions. We work with experts in the cryptocurrency industry to offer this service, ensuring compliance with regulations and security “.
THE DOLLAR CONTINUES
The bank cautions that the Bitcoin Law does not repeal the dollar as legal tender and, in fact, maintains the dollar as the reference currency for accounting purposes. Banking operations are and will continue to be denominated in that currency and he assures that he is looking for “Facilitate transactions and convertibility in real time for our clients. We do not plan to keep crypto assets on our balance sheet, thus limiting any exposure to bitcoin price volatility “.
It says that the customer service is an option of automatic convertibility from bitcoin to dollar, “Working with well-known and established exchange houses or exchanges”.
(The problems of receiving the salary in cryptocurrencies).
BAC Credomatic says there will be no substantial change in relationships with other stakeholders in the financial industry and although they will comply with the law, they will maintain the operations denominated in dollars.
The bank reaffirmed that the financial statements will continue to be expressed in dollars and bitcoin will not be kept on the balance sheets, which would not imply any accounting adjustment or restatement of figures in the global results of Grupo Aval.
And he stressed that the adoption of bitcoin in El Salvador becomes an opportunity for the future preparation of the financial industry in the field of cryptocurrencies and they will focus on creating expert interdisciplinary teams to analyze possible opportunities that occur in the crypto-assets space, “Always in compliance with local and international regulations”.
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