[Marxism] Venezuela takes over troubled bank to be "put on sale as soon as possible"

[Fred Fuentes <fred.fuentes@xxxxxxxxx>]

Venezuela takes over troubled bank
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/02/19/venezuela.bank/

    * Story Highlights
    * Venezuelan government takes control of Stanford Bank Venezuela
    * Bank recorded "extraordinary" withdrawals this week, official says
    * Owner accused in U.S. of multibillion-dollar investment and sales fraud
    * Banking minister says Venezuela's financial system wouldn't be affected

CARACAS, Venezuela (CNN) -- The Venezuelan government on Thursday took
over the Stanford Bank Venezuela, whose owner is accused in the United
States of a multibillion-dollar investment and sales fraud scheme, the
state-run news agency reported.

"Stanford Bank Venezuela will be put on sale as soon as possible,"
said Ali Rodriguez Araque, the country's minister of economy and
finance, said. "We already have a group interested in acquiring the
bank entity."

In recent days, depositors had worried that troubles at Stanford
International Bank would hurt Stanford Bank Venezuela and had
withdrawn cash from the small local bank, even though the companies'
assets are separate, industry officials and bank customers said.

The bank recorded "extraordinary" withdrawals Tuesday and Wednesday
beyond what it can manage, said Edgar Hernandez Behrens, Venezuela's
superintendent of banks.

Officials with the Venezuelan Central Bank, the banking
superintendent's office and Stanford Bank had huddled Wednesday to
decide how to deal with the problem.

A similar scene played out in Antigua, where customers lined up
outside Stanford-owned banks to pull their money.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged financier R. Allen
Stanford and three of his companies Tuesday with orchestrating $9.2
billion in investment and sales fraud. Stanford International Bank,
based in Antigua, is accused of acting through a network of Stanford
Group Co. financial advisers to sell about $8 billion of "certificates
of deposit" to investors.

The SEC also charged Stanford International Bank chief financial
officer James Davis and Laura Pendergest-Holt, chief investment
officer of Stanford Financial Group. The third company named in the
complaint is investment adviser Stanford Capital Management.

Stanford International Bank's Web site said its network has $51
billion in deposits and assets under management or advisement, with
more than 70,000 clients in 140 countries.

In September, Forbes named Stanford as No. 205 in an article on the
400 Richest Americans, saying he was worth more than $2 billion.

Stanford has reveled in the high life and sponsored cricket matches in
the Caribbean. He has citizenship in the United States and Antigua. He
was knighted by the Caribbean nation and is known as Sir Allen
Stanford.

Stanford's whereabouts were uncertain. CNN made repeated attempts
Wednesday to reach Stanford and his attorneys. There was no response.
Some media reports have put him in Antigua, where he has a home, but
that couldn't be confirmed.

Industry officials have said the fall of one of the smallest retail
banks in Venezuela, which only takes deposits and makes loans in local
currency, was unlikely to cause much of a disturbance in the rest of
the sector.

Rodriguez, the Venezuelan banking minister, said the bank was affected
by outside factors, not internal ones, and that the nation's financial
system would not be affected. But the decision by a large number of
depositors to withdraw their money forced officials to intervene, he
said on the state-run ABN news agency.

"The Venezuelan financial system is totally stable, so I invite all
Venezuelans to remain calm," the news agency quoted him as saying.

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