The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF) ordered the liquidation of Banex International Bank, Inc., an international financial entity with operations in Puerto Rico, after finding that the bank was insolvent and had serious financial, operational, accounting, and control deficiencies. Commissioner Mónica Rodríguez Villa issued three summary orders related to the bank’s operations, including one against Luis A. Gasparini, president of the bank’s board of directors.
The monitor found that Banex faced a severe lack of liquidity, with insufficient liquid assets to meet its obligations to depositors.
The decision comes after the local regulator appointed Driven, P.S.C. as monitor of the bank in June, detecting a link to a financial entity intervened by British authorities over alleged money laundering concerns. The monitor found that Banex faced a severe lack of liquidity, with insufficient liquid assets to meet its obligations to depositors. The OCIF proposed fines of up to $534,000 for various non-compliances identified during the supervision process.
The order against Banex constitutes an emergency summary action to address what the OCIF has determined to be an imminent danger to the security of the international financial entities industry operating from Puerto Rico and to protect the public interest through strict compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Over $24 million registered in Banex’s books in an account called 'In Transit' could not be located, tracked, or confirmed.