Baninter

Banco Intercontinental (Baninter) was the second largest privately held commercial bank in the Dominican Republic before collapsing in 2003 in a spectacular fraud tied to political corruption. The resulting deficit of US$2.2B was equal to 12% to 15% of the Dominican national Gross Domestic Product. The size of the bank collapse and the mishandling of it by the administration of President Hipolito Mejia contributed materially to the Dominican economy entering a prolonged steep decline.

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Leading up to Baninter's collapse, Dominican baseball great Sammy Sosa pitched the bank in a series of print and broadcast advertisements, proclaiming "solido, como Baninter", or "solid, like Baninter".

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Gross Domestic Product: In economics, gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the value of economic production of a particular territory in financial capital terms during a specified period. It is one of the measures of national income and output. It is often seen as an indicator of the standard of living in a country...

Hipolito Mejia: Rafael Hip?lito Mej?a Dom?nguez (born 22 February 1941, in Gurabo, Santiago de los Caballeros). President of the Dominican Republic from August 16 2000 to August 16 2004....