Central Reserve Bank (BCR) Governor Julio Velarde on Tuesday affirmed that Peru's economic recovery is faster than expected, following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Velarde admitted that, he was more worried about the financial system and bankruptcy of several companies three months ago.
"Now, my concern has decreased considerably," the economist pointed out.
"The banking system as a whole has always been very sound, although I expected a more severe deterioration in the portfolio from what we are seeing now; this, added to the signs in the payment of obligations in recent months. It (recovery) is faster than expected," he commented.
"I truly believe that these have been positive surprises," he said in his speech at the First Congress of Mining Competitiveness and Social Sustainability, held by the Institute of Mining Engineers of Peru (IIMP).
According to Velarde, this better response to the payment of obligations in the financial system is explained by the contribution of informal economic activities that continued operating despite the lockdown.
"Probably, the fall in the second quarter and in the number of employed people has been less severe due to informality, simply because many economic activities continued operating," he affirmed.
The Central Bank Governor affirmed that the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) usually estimates that the formal sector in Peru grows at the same rate as the informal one.
"I think the downturn has been somewhat less severe (than expected), and the recovery may be a little faster, but I am not going to emphasize it as I have no official figures yet," he added.
(END) MDV/MDV/RMB
Published: 10/13/2020