The President of the Government stated today that the situation of Banif victims demands an urgent solution, defending that regulatory institutions should therefore have the "care and attention to contribute" to the resolution of this matter.
 
"We are talking about a situation that has been going on for six months, as of June 20, and, by now, its resolution has become particularly urgent," said Vasco Cordeiro after receiving the Association of Banif victims.
 
Vasco Cordeiro recalled that there is no legal obligation on the part of the bank that replaced Banif to address this issue, but this institution has already publicly expressed its willingness to do so, which "cannot be stalled due to the intervention of other entities, such as regulators."
 
"We are not talking about the situation of speculators. We are talking about the situation of Azorean citizens who, in many cases, trusted the savings of a lifetime of work in an institution and had no knowledge about financial products that would allowed them to properly assess risks," said the President of the Government." According to him, "the worst thing that one can do about this matter is to fool with the expectations of these people."
 
"The Government of the Azores is aware and is on the side of Banif victims. It is monitoring the process, which is of great importance to the regional economy," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
With regard to recent news reporting that the European Commission admitted that Banif could have continued restructuring process in 2016, the President of the Government considered that it is "pure hypocrisy, because everybody knows that, from January 1, 2016, the outcome would be much more severe with the entry into force of new Community legislation and this would directly affect depositors.
 
"These declarations are also a way to take lightly the situation of those who were affected by the situation of Banif," said the President of the Regional Government.
 
Today's meeting, which adds up to a range of other formal and informal contacts that the Regional Government has maintained on this subject, also noted the importance of this Association in ensuring the formal representation of the interests of those who have been affected by the outcome of Banif, concluded Vasco Cordeiro.