President Hugo Chavez Frias calls for lower loan interest rates

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Thursday, April 03, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

President Hugo Chavez Frias has once again slammed the nation's high interest rates and called on the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) to impose maximum rate limits to make borrowing more accessible.

The President said that charging over 50% is excessive and that rates need to be reduced ... "I demand it with due respect for the Central Bank's autonomy, and I demand it because I respect its autonomy, otherwise I would impose it."

The President went on to claim that the BCV had been infiltrated by neo-liberals and urged the bank's directors to occasionally make a decision on political considerations and not just based on theory.

The Venezuelan leader says that state owned banks would set a precedent and will be reducing their interest rates soon in the hope that the BCV and other banks would follow their lead.