The separation of Rolando Sevilla as president of the Board of Directors of the Deposit Guarantee Fund (Fogade), gave rise to his replacement by Álvaro Altamirano Padilla, a former employee of the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR), who is considered a ‘file’ former comptroller Luis Ángel Montenegro, current head of the Superintendence of Banks and Other Financial Institutions, (Siboif).
The fogade Its mission is to “guarantee the restitution of deposits of individuals and/or legal entities of the member institutions of the system”, in the event of the bankruptcy of one or more banks, guaranteeing the return of up to 10,000 dollars per saver. It also executes the intervention processes and supervises the forced liquidation of said institutions, to contribute to the stability and credibility of the financial system.
In the presidential agreement 93-2022, published in La Gaceta number 102, Sevilla’s resignation is accepted, and his appointment contained in the presidential agreement 138-2015 is nullified. Next, the presidential agreement 94-2022 is published, in which Altamirano Padilla is appointed as the new president of Fogade.
Although Sevilla refrained from making any comment to CONFIDENTIALan analyst on financial issues who preferred to omit his name, reported that Sevilla had planned to resign due to his health condition, but did not submit his resignation, in part, because they asked him to remain in the position.
“Suddenly, the dictatorship decided to ‘give it up,’ so Ovid Reyespresident of the Central Bank of Nicaragua; Ivan AcostaMinister of Finance, and Luis Angel Montenegro, head of the Siboif, all sanctioned by OFAC, told him to submit his resignation. He put it on and stayed silent to avoid trouble. That same day they told him who was his substitute, ”said the analyst.
“They chose to ignore the law, which will undoubtedly be a factor of instability in the financial system, because this decision will have international repercussions. It is a very sensitive issue. Such a decision should have been made by consensus, because it is about the security of Nicaraguans’ savings, and now Ortega has complete control over that money,” he added.
$217 million equity
Two sources from the private sector who asked to comment from the security offered by anonymity, rejected the idea that the decision to put someone obedient to Montenegro —and therefore, to Ortega—, to manage the Fogade, puts the money at risk managed by the institution, whose assets went from 7,267.5 million córdobas as of December 31, 2020, to 7,779.7 million a year later.
The senior executive of a financial company said that he does not believe that they use these resources in the wrong way… “if we stick to the fact that they have been very responsible in financial and macroeconomic management, and that should not change.” For his part, an economist with experience in microfinance, also ruled out that possibility, because “it is not convenient for the Government to harm the savings system.”
When studying Fogade’s balance sheet and income statements between 2020 and 2021, the executive cited above highlighted that the capital is 217 million dollars, and almost all of it is in investments. Profits for 2021 were just over $14 million, indicating that it continues to accumulate surpluses, while the deposit insurance fund grows.
“That the capital is almost all in investments, is the best. The problem is that we don’t know where the investments are. Given the nature of the Fund, the best way to obtain returns are BCN bonds, but it would be necessary to confirm. Nor is there any deterioration in Fogade’s finances. It is very solvent, so the outgoing president delivered it with good numbers, ”he assured.
The financial analyst quoted above, opined that “the dictatorship has put a cat to take care of the milk of all the account holders; because Altamirano Padilla is a piece of Montenegro, who was the brain in the creation of BanCorp, in his capacity as advisor to Daniel Ortega’s supporter on financial issues, since Silvio Conrad died”.
Altamirano’s only relationship with banking was “as liquidator of BanCorp, appointed by Montenegro; because of BanCorp was a voluntary liquidation (non-judicial), taken after the sanctions applied by OFAC”, said the source.
