|
Andorra, a small mountainous state whose economy
relies heavily on financial services, took control of BPA this
month after the U.S. Department of the Treasury said it was a
channel for laundering the profits of international criminal
gangs.
Advisers PriceWaterhouseCoopers have been working over the past
two weeks to separate the legal business of the bank from the
illegal, government spokesman Gilbert Saboya said in a press
conference late on Thursday.
"We are setting up a good bank/bad bank scheme," he said, adding
that next week the state would pass bank restructuring
legislation to speed up the resolution of the BPA crisis.
The scheme would help the state analyze different outcomes for
BPA, which could including selling assets, a total or partial
return to operations, or a liquidation, he said.
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has said the problems at
BPA -- which represents about a fifth of all assets and
liabilities in the Andorran banking system -- could strain
national finances.
On Thursday, Andorra said it had approved a credit line of up to
100 million euros ($108 million) to help BPA's company clients
deal with immediate operating costs such as salaries.
State-appointed managers at BPA have capped cash withdrawals and
the former chief executive of the bank has been arrested on
suspicion of money laundering. Andorra has insisted BPA is an
isolated case.
BPA's Spanish unit Banco Madrid filed for bankruptcy earlier
this month.
($1 = 0.9253 euros)
(Writing by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Mark Potter)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
