Will Banrep manage future pensions? The manager responded to this

He Bank of the Republicin the midst of the usual pressure due to the monetary policy issues he handles, now has a new issue that he did not expect to have on his hands: the possibility of having to manage pension contributions, including the contributions of the hundreds of thousands of workers who choose a private savings fundwho would be forced to contribute to Colpensiones if the pension reform is approved.

Leonardo Villar, general manager of Banco de la Repúblicain an interview for EL TIEMPO, spoke for the first time about this possibility, ensuring that the country’s monetary authority could do so as long as certain conditions are met that do not transcend its constitutional function.

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“What I could say is that for it to be viable for the Bank to manage a savings fund like the one generated in the pension reform, it needs to be done within the framework of its constitutional function as fiscal agent of the Government. This, in turn, requires that the proposal be explicitly endorsed by the Government“he assured.

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He also said that, if we take into account the role of Fiscal agent that the Bank has, the entity cannot be responsible for managing future pensions “as hinted at in some sections of the bill approved by the Senate. In a medium premium pension system like the one managed by Colpensiones, the responsibility for future pensions lies entirely with that entity and the national government. It should also be clarified that an entity like the Banco de la República would have to delegate this administration to specialized agents, just as it has traditionally done in funds like the FAE.“.

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The general manager of the Bank of the Republic explained that It should be clarified that the entity it represents would have to delegate this resource administration to other more specialized bodies, as the FAE has done..

Pensions.

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And I add: “We will express the details of the concerns that we are analyzing at Banco de la República in a communication to Congress after the discussion that we have already started with the members of the Bank’s Board of Directors.“.

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Villar made it clear that the funds that the Bank has managed “They have different characteristics. Regarding size, some estimates suggest that the amount of savings that the Government would make based on the pension reform would be substantial and would have macroeconomic implications.“.

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*With information from EL TIEMPO – ECONOMÍA