Hugo Chavez Buys Banco de Venezuela
July 3, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Business
On Friday, Hugo Chavez and the government of Venezuela officially purchased Banco de Venezuela. Although the agreement to buy the bank was made in May, the first payment was completed this week.
Banco de Venezuela had owners, Grupo Santander, in the country of Spain. The selling price was reportedly more than one billion. Venezuela’s government will make three separate payments to complete the transaction by the end of the year.
With more than 3 million customers, Banco de Venezuela reportedly handles about 10% of the deposits in the country. It’s now estimated that the Venezuelan government is in charge of more than 20% of the country’s deposits.
Prior to the deal, the government had about 9,000 bank employees. The purchase of Banco de Venezuela pushes that number up to approximately 15,000.
This move continues a trend in Venezuela of Hugo Chavez and the rest of the government nationalizing major segments of the economy.
Banco de Venezuela (Image: Flickr)
