With 65%, the banana sector is the largest debtor of the former bank Banco Anglo. The Banco Anglo Costarricense was a public bank that failed due to internal corruption in the 1990s. The outstanding debt of 9,000 million colones, by five major plantations, was primarily caused by a series of failed projects.
A number of the plantations were sold off, but the acquired revenue wasn’t nearly enough to save the bank, which went under 18 years ago.
In the late 1980’s, the administration of Óscar Arias implemented a plan to boost the then problematic banana industry. The succeeding office of Rafael Ángel Calderón actually went ahead with this plan, and several companies were invited to participate in the project. Banco Anglo was one of the banks called upon to fund the mission.
When internal conflicts rose due to charges of corruption, the project fell apart.
Efforts to save the plantations have been on-going ever since. Enduring allegations of corruption and a misuse of government funding complicate matters severely.
Source: Nacion