At the first Economic Meeting of the Puerto Rico Association of Financial Analysts (APAF), held Tuesday at the Hilton Garden Inn, four leading bank executives said leadership failures and stalled economic reforms — not resource management — are the main obstacles to boosting Puerto Rico's competitiveness and private-sector growth. José Rafael Fernández, president and CEO of Oriental Bank, said Puerto Rico lacks a collective purpose and needs stronger leadership and execution from both government and the private sector, beyond reliance on the Fiscal Oversight Board (JSF) and federal funds. He called for structural tax reform, saying the current system is 'archaic' and 'extremely complex' and discourages economic development.
Antonieta Cristina Pérez, Citi's Country Officer and head of Banking in Puerto Rico, said government should focus on creating conditions for private-sector execution — such as ensuring adequate competition in infrastructure projects — rather than trying to run every project itself. Also participating were Maritza Abadía, president of Banesco USA in Puerto Rico, and Jorge García, Popular Inc.'s new CEO. Robert F.
Mujica, JSF executive director, was the keynote speaker.