The 2009–2010 banking crisis in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

occurred when the government took control of several banks following revelations that institutions owned by supporters of

Hugo Chavez Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hugo (film), ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise ...

supporters were in financial trouble after engaging in questionable business practices. Some were seriously undercapitalized, others were apparently lending large sums of money to top executives, and at least one financier couldn't prove where he got the money to buy his banks in the first place." In November and December 2009 seven banks were taken over, accounting for around 12% of total deposits.''

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'', 9 December 2009

/ref> In 2010 more banks were taken over. The government arrested at least 16 bankers and issued more than 40 corruption-related arrest warrants for others who had fled the country.

2009

In September and October 2009 Ricardo Fernández Barrueco had led a group of investors in taking over four banks - Canarias, Confederado, Bolívar and BanPro - together accounting for 5.7 percent of Venezuela's banking sector. In late 2009 Fernandez was arrested in Venezuela for a variety of charges, including misappropriation of funds, in connection with the takeover due to liquidity problems of the four banks acquired by Fernandez. The crisis saw the December 2009 resignation of a government minister,

Jesse Chacón Jesse Alonso Chacón Escamillo (born 9 November 1965) is a Venezuelan politician, engineer, and former military officer. Chacón participated in the November 1992 coup attempt the second attempted coup of that year, when he took part in the occu ...

, upon the arrest of his brother Arné Chacón in relation to a banking corruption scandal. He stated in media interviews, "I called the president and told him that in these conditions I would prefer to resign so that there would be no doubt about our transparency in this investigation". Earlier in the year the government had already been forced to take over Stanford Bank Venezuela, as well as encountering a corruption crisis at the state-owned

Banco Industrial de Venezuela Banco Industrial de Venezuela (''Industrial Bank of Venezuela''), or BIV, was a Venezuelan state bank. History The BIV was established in 1937 with 60% state and 40% private capital investment. The state gradually gained full control, and in th ...

which saw the latter's ex-president arrested on corruption charges.

2010

In June 2010

Banco Federal Banco Federal was a Venezuelan bank based in Caracas. At the end of April 2010 it was the country's 11th-largest bank, with deposits of 7.66 billion bolivars, or 2.82 percent of total deposits in the banking system.''BusinessWeek'', 14 June 2010Ve ...

, the country's 11th-largest bank, with deposits of 7.66 billion bolivars, or 2.82 percent of total deposits in the banking system,''

'', 14 June 2010
Venezuela Seizes Banco Federal for ‘Grave’ Weakness (Update2)
/ref> was taken over by Venezuela's banking regulator. It had been told to expand its capital base by 1.5bn bolivars (around $350m), and had only raised B100m. At least 12 other banks had been taken over since November 2009 after speculation about bank insolvency.

2009

2010

References

See also