Guatemalan Cenbank Closes Down Bancafe Grupo Financiero del Pais

The Guatemalan central bank shut down operations at Banco del Café to protect depositors after it suffered heavy losses investing in the United States. The bank had been warned before over its investments in Refco, a bankrupt brokerage firm. The bank had deposited $204 million with Refco, and these funds were frozen when it folded. The central bank will transfer the accounts of 300,000 individuals, worth some $600 million, to other Guatemalan banks and promised no one would lose their savings.