With the reform of the Banxico Law, Mexico will be a “magnet” of illegal dollars: banks

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With the reform of the Banxico Law, Mexico will be a magnet of illegal dollars banks
With the reform of the Banxico Law, Mexico will be a magnet of illegal dollars banks

The country’s bankers warned that the reforms to the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) Law, which were approved by the Chamber of Senators and which are under discussion in Congress, will put the central bank and the country at serious risk since they would position it as a magnet to launder illicit dollars.

“We believe that the bill approved by the Senate of the Republic, as it stands at the moment, puts the country at risk and is economically unfeasible by requiring the unlimited purchase of dollars at the official exchange rate, a dollar magnet would not only Mexican but global to be washed here in Mexico. These small details are very important for the country ”, assured Jorge Arce, general director of HSBC Mexico.

During the meeting with the deputies of the Finance Commission of the Lower House, the representatives of the national and international commercial banks that operate in Mexico agreed that there is no precedent in the world for a central bank – such as Banxico – to be a policyholder. of last resort foreign exchange.

“That causes a tremendously important risk because with this we transfer the responsibility of purchasing cash to the State, and we also expose it to have, unfortunately, interventions that may be from the American Department of Justice and that this could lead to its freezing of the reserves, “said the director of Santander Mexico, Héctor Grisi.

In this sense, the director of the US investment bank, Bank of America, assured that operating currency in cash is risky for financial institutions, who must also comply with the regulations of the destination countries, which would put the Bank of Mexico in audits by international banks, forced by authorities of countries that would force them to stop operating with Banxico.

Just imagine an international bank, having to audit Banxico’s money laundering processes, being the regulator and sanctioning it, which would imply that it would not operate the accounts in global transactions, which would be practical for the payment system in Mexico. The authorities of other countries force them to stop operating with Banxico and the consequences could be very serious, “he said.

In this sense, the bankers agreed that the necessary infrastructure to be able to attend and prevent the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing has been developed by banks in Mexico for years, which has represented investments of millions of dollars.

“We would see it very difficult for Banco de México to be ready quickly, it would have to make a tremendous investment to be able to do so,” said Grisi Checa, Santander’s CEO.