Ecuador

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published an analysis of Ecuador's banking and cooperative sector which aimed to identify potential risks these sectors may face due to an economic shock. The study primarily focused on private banks and cooperatives, which constitute 81% of the sector's assets.Despite the economic shocks brought about by events like the Covid-19 pandemic, the report commends the resilience of private financial entities. However, it also raises a flag on potential solvency and liquidity risks that may arise from future economic shocks. This is mainly because these financial entities had to absorb losses from unpaid loans that increased during the pandemic.Financial Relief Measures and their ImpactThe report also highlights the impact of financial relief measures in the form of waivers, restructurings, and refinancing of loans. These measures have reportedly weakened the payment c...

Hostages freed after prison standoff Ecuadorian authorities announced on Friday that they had secured the release of 50 guards and seven police officers who were taken hostage by inmates in six different prisons across the country. The hostages were held for more than a day, in what the government described as a retaliation by criminal groups to its efforts to regain control of several large correctional facilities. The National Service for Attention to Persons Deprived of Liberty, the country's corrections system, said in a statement that the 57 law enforcement officers were safe, but did not provide details about how they were freed. The hostages were seized on Thursday, when inmates rioted and attacked guards with weapons and explosives. The hostage crisis was the latest episode in a series of violent acts that have rocked Ecuador in recent weeks, as prison gangs have clashed with authorities and targeted public infra...