Regulator fines Bancolombia $111,000 |
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Published
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Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:38
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BOGOTA, Colombia (AFX) - Colombia's securities regulator has imposed a US$111,000 (euro85,250) fine on Bancolombia SA -- the country's largest bank and only company traded on the New York Stock Exchange -- for accounting discrepancies related to a 2005 merger with its investment unit Corfinsura, the bank said.Separately, banking regulators approved Banco Davivienda SA's US$927 million (euro712 million) takeover of state-owned bank Bancafe, a merger that creates the country's third largest bank.Regulators fined Bancolombia on Monday because the bank used different accounting methods to calculate the capital of the two banks before the merger, Bancolombia said late Wednesday in an e-mailed statement.The fine, which the bank plans to appeal, comes less than a month after prosecutors ordered the arrest of Bancolombia's CEO, Jorge Londono, on charges that he defrauded business partners in the 1997 merger that led to the bank's creation.Prosecutors lifted the arrest order on Jan. 10, and Londono resumed his duties shortly after. But he and another bank official remain under investigation for possible fraud in Banco Industrial Colombiano's US$418 million (euro320 million) acquisition of Banco de Colombia SA.That merger led to the creation of the Andean nation's largest bank.On Jan. 18, regulators fined Bancolombia US$44,000 (euro33,800) for delays in reporting corporate information to the central bank.Bancolombia's American Depository Receipts were trading 1.25 percent higher Thursday at US$30.12 (euro23.13) -- still 5.5 percent off where it was before prosecutors ordered Londono's arrest on Jan. 4.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Bancolombia execs to return to work 