SAR allocate fund reserve after taking over bank

The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam, said today that it was necessary for the Government to allocate a funds reserve sufficient to cope with the short-term shortage of cash flow of Banco Delta Asia. He said the measure would help stabilise the operation of the bank and the financial system of Macao. Mr Tam described the cash flow of the bank as and temporary, caused by the unusual withdrawal of money by customers. For this reason it was necessary for the Government to take measures to stabilise the situation. He said the Government decided to take this step after taking over the operation of the bank: the reserve had exceeded MOP500 million in the last couple of days and might be increased, according to the cash flow situation. He said that according to the Government’s understanding to date, the bank would be able to fulfill its long-term financial liabilities, but short-term fluctuations in cash flow was inevitable. The Government had adequate reserve to cope with the bank’s need, he said.