(Bloomberg) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took on a markedly neoliberal tone while speaking in front of a group of bankers, despite having decried such policies moments earlier in his remarks.
At the Mexican Banking Association’s conference in the resort town of Acapulco, the president seemed at odds with his leftist history, announcing that banks should regulate banks, and that his administration would not take action to fix banking fees.
In a wide-ranging speech that began by railing against Mexico’s neoliberal history, Lopez Obrador moved on to thank the bankers present for their commitment to financial inclusion, and likened the need for banks to self-regulate to the freedoms enjoyed by the press.
“I think the subject of commissions can be dealt with, not with laws, not through regulation,” Lopez Obrador told the audience to widespread applause. “The press regulates the press. It’s the same thing, and that can be applied in this case to this sector. Banks should be regulated by banks.”
Mexican banks have been criticized for high fees on everything from ATM withdrawals to balance consultations. Things came to a head in November of last year when the Senate majority leader -- himself of a member of Lopez Obrador’s party -- Ricardo Monreal floated legislation to lower fees. Lopez Obrador quickly shot the proposal down, but the government and banking association are close enough to a deal that central bank Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon said a bill could be completed in coming days.
While Lopez Obrador promised to not legislate by executive decision, he said that competition would lower fees. He also said that an agreement should be reached between the banking sector and the government on high fees charged on remittances. He told the bankers present that he would be back in a year, and hoped to be able to announce progress on lowering bank fees.
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