July 20, 2007
HP-497

Update: U.S. Treasurer to Launch Latin America Initiative
with Visits to Mexico, Central America

U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral will travel to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico next week, where she will launch the Treasury Department's initiative to provide Latin Americans with better access to banks and other basic financial services. Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. discussed his goal of improving the availability of basic financial services in the region in a June speech at the Americas Competitiveness Forum

The vast majority of the Latin American population functions exclusively in a cash and barter economy.  More than 70 percent of the residents of most Latin American economies do not use basic financial services such as deposit and transaction accounts, according to World Bank estimates.

Treasurer Cabral will meet with representatives from the public, private and non-profit sectors in each country and host a series of public discussions focused on ways to give more Latin Americans access to basic financial services. This visit is in advance of the Latin America Regional Conference, which Secretary Paulson announced last month and Treasurer Cabral will host this fall.  More details on the trip will follow in the coming week.

Who  
U. S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral
What  
Press Availability
When  
Wednesday, July 25  2:30 p.m. (Local Time)
Where 
Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte.
Apartado Posta (106)
San Salvador, El Salvador

Who  
U. S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral
What  
Press Availability
When  
Monday, July 30  4:30 p.m. (Local Time)
Where 
U.S. Embassy in Honduras
Avenida La Paz
Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Who  
U. S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral
Mexico Subsecretary of Finance and Public Credit Alejandro M. Werner
What  
Breakfast Seminar on Improving Access to Financial Services in Latin America
When  
Wednesday, August 1  8:30 a.m. (Local Time)
Where 
Sheraton Hotel & Convention Center
Avenida Juarez 70, Colonia Centro
Mexico City Federal District
Mexico City, Mexico

Who  
U. S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral
What  
Press Availability
When  
Wednesday, August 1  11:30 a.m. (Local Time)
Where 
Sheraton Hotel & Convention Center
Avenida Juarez 70, Colonia Centro
Mexico City Federal District
Mexico City, Mexico

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