Panicking Bank Clients Withdrew $9 Million
RUMORS that the government would close BAC San José, a private bank with 32 branches in Costa Rica, prompted thousands of bank clients to withdraw savings totaling $9 million in August. BAC officials, as well as the country s top economic officials, said the rumors were baseless and managed to restore calm after a few days of chaos that included, ironically, the mugging of a man leaving a BAC branch with $10,000 in cash he had withdrawn in an attempt to save it from the nonexistent government intervention. Officials chided the public for taking action without checking the facts. BAC San José s executive vice-president Gerardo Corrales told The Tico Times in December that although initial probes showed the rumors began with text messages sent to cell phones from call centers and an Internet café, the perpetrators remain unknown. It was very well done, very well planned, he said of the spread of false information.
You may be interested

Slothy Sunday: End your February with a sloth
The Tico Times - February 28, 2021Happy Slothy Sunday from Costa Rica! We hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend, and the end of February…

How can I immigrate to Costa Rica?
Lic. Jorge Montero B. - February 28, 2021Back in September 2016, when we lived in a completely different social environment, not yet affected by the global pandemic,…

Central America begins ban to protect lobster
AFP and The Tico Times - February 27, 2021Countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic on Monday will begin a ban to protect the Caribbean spiny lobster…