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COSTA RICA |
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Costa Rica's State Banks And Elections
Tribunal Locking Horns On Advertising Ban
The Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) and
the state banks are locked into a battle
with no signs of reaching a turning point,
however on Friday a new episode was opened.
The state banks, the Banco Nacional (BN),
the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), Banco Popular
(BP) and the Banco Crédito Agrícola de
Cartago (Bancrédito), have, independently,
filed with the TSE an appeal on the
interpretation of the judges with respect to
article 142 of the Código Electoral
(Elections Code), which limits the rights of
the financial institutions to advertise
their products, promotions and achievements
during an election.
Last Monday the TSE said that state banks
cannot advertise during the almost four
months that the presidential elections run,
in an effort to avoid the government to use
the the state banks to promote presidential
candidate Laura Chinchilla.
Chinchilla is the candidate for the Partido
Liberación Nacional (PLN), the ruling party,
and member of the current government's
cabinet, holding the post of first
vice-president until her resignation last
year to run for the presidential chair under
the PLN ticket.
The state banks say the filing was
individual, as opposed to a group action,
because of the different needs and interests
of each individual institution.
However, a collective meeting with the TSE
president, Luis Antonio Sobrado, is possible
in the coming week, to discuss "an
understanding".
The TSE restriction allows state banks only
to advertise and publish items like interest
rates, product offers and the current state
of the banks' financial position.
The state banks are not happy about this
restriction, saying it limits their ability
to compete in the market with the private
banks.
The position of the state banks is supported
by the opinion Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR)
political analyst, César Zúñiga, who said on
Friday that the TSE ruling is over
exaggerated.
"The work of the (state) banks is quite
different than that of the Poder Ejecutivo
(government)", said Zúñiga, who added that
state banks are corporations with commercial
interest, while the government is not and
thus is not comprehensible why the TSE would
want to restrict the competitiveness of the
state banks.
On one side of the issue is the TSE,
which says:
- state banks must not advertise or
promote themselves to avoid the government
to favour one candidate (Chinchilla)
- the state banks can only advertise and
promote their interest rates, products and
financial position, avoiding anything that
can be construed politicking
- penalties for non-compliance can include
jail for the directors of the state banks
On the other side, the state banks say:
- the directive is excessive and
reduces their ability to compete with
private banks
- their advertising and promotions are not
political in nature
- the TSE restriction will greatly hurt the
bank's financial position, especially during
the peak Christmas shopping season, leading
to lower profits
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