The Assembly`s Political Control Committee received on July 4th the Superintendent of Banks, Christian Cruz. He presented his defense to the request for impeachment promoted by the legislator Raul Tello (Bloque de Integración-Independiente). Cruz is accused of failing to perform his duties because he did not control the former president of the Board of Directors of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS), Richard Espinosa, for the handling of the State’s debt to Health Insurance. The process will continue next week. The committee will evaluate the arguments and define if they are enough to enable the debate in the Assembly`s floor.

Tello argues that when Cruz was part of the Board of Directors of the IESS, he validated the omission of a US $ 2,527 million debt in Institute’s accounting that the State maintained with the institute for medical attention. In addition, he allowed the IESS not to present the financial statements and balance sheets of the entity something that is required every six months by law.

Christian Cruz defended himself by saying his administration was driven by legal and constitutional technical parameters. He also pointed out that his banking supervision tasks (public and private) achieved “the best results in history.” He highlighted that the Ecuadorian financial system is solvent and has liquidity. He also highlighted that his supervision and control work was “efficient”.