The Government is willing to sell Bancafé, the country's second financial entity, by means of a public auction, as part of Colombia's undertakings under an agreement signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Bancafé has always been one of the most appreciated assets of the Colombian coffee sector. However, in October 1999 due to various causes, the entity was taken over by the Guarantees Fund of Financial Institutions (Fondo de Garantías de Instituciones Financieras - FOGAFIN), when its shareholders were unable to inject fresh resources to save it.
Since then, the Colombian government has invested 1,1 billion pesos in its recovery and nowadays Bancafé holds 7.5% of the financial market collections and 8.2% of the sector's assets, as mentioned by the newspaper "El Espectador" in its edition of June 11, 2001.
