Deputy Daniel Ulate (National Liberation) released an alleged draft bill prepared by the Executive Power that defines the conditions for the sale of Conape’s portfolio to Banco Popular.
The president of the board of the Workers Assembly of the Popular Bank and Community Development, Fernando Faith, indicated that they are opposed to said bank acquiring the loan portfolio of the National Commission for Education Loans (Conape) and said that he does not recommend any financial institution purchasing the portfolio.
Both Faith and the deputy Daniel Ulate (National Liberation) and Julio Alvarado, representative of the Movement for the Defense of Conape released an alleged draft of the bill prepared by the Executive Power in a press conference held on Tuesday, March 9 in the Legislative Assembly.
“The institutions of the social state of law are strengthened; they do not fall apart, ”said Faith, who reported that the Assembly asked the bank’s board of directors to vote against any proposed purchase of the Conape portfolio and also urged the deputies to reject any initiative that sells said portfolio.
The eventual transfer of Conape’s loan portfolio to Banco Popular emerged as a proposal at the multi-sector dialogue table at the end of last year. It is estimated that Conape’s portfolio amounts to $ 400 million (around ¢ 244,800 million). According to the Ministry of Finance, this transaction would generate more than ¢ 240,000 million (0.66% of the Gross Domestic Product), which would be used to pay the public debt.
Created in 1977, Conape is a semi-autonomous institution in charge of providing loans for higher and technical education with accessible conditions to students who require it.
Faith pointed out that “while there is a moment of crisis due to the pandemic, while Conassif and Sugef insist that financial institutions must review the credit conditions for those who are in arrears, a bill that does not measure that appears in a very inopportune manner” .
“There may be 50,000 people who have to be studied and open files. Is our public and state banks with the time and the capacity to do it when they are helping others who are having a very bad time? Are we capable of dealing with the banks that delinquencies could rise and liquidity could be affected? ”, Asked Faith.
Deputy Daniel Ulate affirmed that “the Government has been very irresponsible.” “It cannot be that they want to come to auction such a noble institution, so important for all Costa Ricans,” for young people, for “all the people who fight for it, who need those resources to get ahead.”
It is estimated that there are currently around 50,000 active young people with loans from Conape.
Ulate also criticized the directors of Conape for not speaking out against the proposal. “Too bad this board of directors did not have the guts to defend these precious resources,” he said.
“I am concerned that the Government has been able to walk with a bill under the table,” while showing the alleged document: “this is the bill that was being speculated behind our backs.”
Ulate was accompanied at the press conference by legislators Dragos Dolanescu (Independent), Pedro Muñoz (PUSC), Karine Niño (PLN), Franggi Nicolas (PLN), Patricia Villegas and María José Corrales (PLN).
On the other hand, Julio Alvarado pointed out that “there is a sector that has always wanted to disappear Conape because it hinders it, because it does not serve it, so this proposal comes from the hand of paid financial operators, who are looking to get out of the way to an institution that is and will be key for future generations of Costa Ricans ”.
In the explanatory statement of the text “Law to authorize the sale of the credit portfolio of the National Commission of Education Loans to the Popular and Community Development Bank” it is indicated:
“The Executive Power states in a forceful manner that this project does not pursue the closing or sale of CONAPE, nor the deterioration of its sources of financing created by Costa Rican legislation. However, it is not limited in terms of the sale mechanisms indicated in the article, as long as through others a better economic performance can be obtained ”.
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