What’s the Real Reason for Vasquez Being Fired?

Michael Peyrefitte

Vasquez’s letter to staff, which was read in its entirety this morning, speaks to protecting his integrity, his reputation, as well as that of the Central Bank.  The big question, raised by the U.D.P. today is whether the independence of the regulatory body is being preserved under the current administration.  The reason for the governor’s sudden removal is yet to be fully disclosed by the Minister of Finance.

Michael Peyrefitte, Former Attorney General

“So what makes this situation, to me, even more acceptable than just the removal of a Central Bank governor is that we don’t know.  We don’t what’s going on and when we don’t know what’s going on that is not good for stability and you cannot have instability at the body that is a regulator and whose job it is to promote stability. So we have great instability at the very body that is in charge of stability. If you follow this letter, and if this letter is real and in time, clearly what he is trying to say is that he believes that his integrity is maintained and that he tried his best to restore the integrity and operational autonomy of the Central Bank.  The inference from this naturally is that he was not being allowed to do his job.  He was not being allowed to do what he was responsible to do as the chief regulator of the financial system.  That is what we get from the letter.  But the question is, we don’t know.  Nobody is talking.  There is no letter, there is no termination, there is no resignation and as far as the public is concerned, technically, Mr. Vasquez is still the governor of the Central Bank although we know that he is supposed to leave.  But on what basis?”