Bahnvi Looking To Forgive Loans
Some 3.600 families living in extreme poverty may get their Christmas gift from the government, who is considering forgiving some ¢2.3 billion colones (us$4.45 million dollars) in accumulated debt on loans.

The amount is part of the ¢6 billion colones to 6.400 low income Costa Ricans who have not paid to the the Banco Hipotecario de la Vivienda (Banhvi), the state financier of "social class" homes.

According to Banhvi, the amount has been accumulating over the past 20 years on two trusts that the Banhvi set up under a program called “Comisión Especial de Vivienda”, including amounts owed to the failed Banco Anglo Costarricense and the Banco Crédito Agrícola de Cartago.

Banhvi officials said the reasons that these people cannot pay are many. Fernando Zumbado, ministro de Vivienda (Housing minister) said that the accumulation has origins in the mismanagement by the financial institutions, that in many cases allowed the poor to lose their homes.

The pardon on the loans is part of a program that is in the hands of theCcomisión de Asuntos Sociales del Congreso. Ofelia Taitelbaum, president of the commission, assures that the program has support and will be approved.

If the program is not approved, Carlos Castro, assistant to the president of Banhvi, said that the outstanding amounts are owed to the institution and it is required by law to recover them, though the process is very difficult as the amounts owing have gotten beyond the capacity of the payor and not through their fault, but the fault of the financial institutions.

Banco Anglo closed its doors on 14 September 1994, an institution that held one of the largest social class housing trusts.