COSTA RICA · BANKING
Key Facts
- What A decree lets the cabinet pick four directors and four alternates for Banco Popular, a Costa Rican public bank.
- When It appeared in the official gazette on Monday 9 November 2026 and took effect on publication.
- Who picks The cabinet must choose from candidates pre-selected by the workers’ assembly, a body of worker delegates.
- Status The decree names nobody, and the seats are provisional with no fixed end date.
- Power Index Costa Rica ranks 9th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 35.5 points (November 2026 edition).
Costa Rica’s government has issued a decree that lets it appoint four directors and four alternates to the board of Banco Popular, a public bank. These seats normally belong to the bank’s workers’ assembly, the body of worker delegates that picks part of the board, and the decree was published in La Gaceta, the official gazette, on Monday 9 November 2026.
The decree names no one yet and describes the arrangement as temporary. For foreign investors it is the latest in a series of government moves to control the board of a public bank that serves everyday savers and borrowers.
What the Decree Does
The decree (45984-MP-MTSS, signed on 3 November 2026) builds on a January 2024 decree (44331-MP-MTSS) that had already kept a temporary board in place at Banco Popular. It lets the Council of Government, the cabinet, name four full directors and four alternates, and it must give reasons for each choice.
The seats are provisional and tied to finishing the assembly’s 2026–2030 integration and the ratification of its representatives. The decree sets no calendar date when they expire.
Who Can Be Picked
The cabinet must choose from candidates the workers’ assembly had already pre-selected. It must weigh gender parity, experience in supervised financial entities, recent experience on boards or in senior management of financial institutions large enough that their failure would shake the system, and representation of the assembly’s sectors.
The assembly’s administrative body has three business days from publication to send the candidate list and files. A cabinet office then checks each candidate for legal conflicts and drops anyone with an impediment.
Why the Government Says It Is Needed
The decree’s preamble cites a note dated 9 September 2026 from the bank’s corporate general management. It warns that a board unable to meet could stall urgent decisions, including approval of the 2027 budget, internal rules and the hiring of an external auditor.
The bank’s internal audit unit also warned on 17 August 2026 that managers cannot take decisions reserved for the board. It said the same applies to the auditor general while the board is not constituted.
A Familiar Fight
This is not the first time the executive has stepped in at Banco Popular, since successive decrees from 2022 have let it fill these seats temporarily. The decree it amends dates from January 2024 (44331-MP-MTSS).
The latest decree again moves a choice that belongs to the workers’ assembly toward the cabinet. Our report on a Costa Rican state bank arm’s US$89 million business-park deal shows how public-sector banks shape the economy.
What It Means for You
The decree concerns only who sits on the board. Customers of the bank are not asked to do anything.
Foreign investors in Costa Rican banks or bonds should watch whether governance of public banks becomes a theme in the budget debate. The test is who the cabinet names and how fast it acts; our report on Costa Rica’s central bank and inflation gives the wider economic backdrop.
What Is Not Known
The decree names nobody, so the identities of the four directors and four alternates are open. It is also unclear how many candidates the assembly has pre-selected.
It is not known when the cabinet will act. How the workers’ assembly and unions will respond is also open.
More: Costa Rica news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does the Banco Popular Decree Do?
It lets Costa Rica’s cabinet appoint four directors and four alternates to the bank’s board. The seats normally belong to the workers’ assembly.
What Is Banco Popular?
Banco Popular y de Desarrollo Comunal is a Costa Rican public bank in which a workers’ assembly helps choose the board. It serves everyday savers and borrowers.
When Did the Decree Take Effect?
It was published in La Gaceta on Monday 9 November 2026 and takes effect on publication. The seats are provisional with no end date.
Has the Government Named the Directors Yet?
No. The decree sets the procedure only, and the assembly’s administrative body has three business days to send its candidate list.
Sources: La Gaceta, official gazette of Costa Rica, National Printing Office, executive decree on the Banco Popular board, 9 November 2026; Banco Popular y de Desarrollo Comunal, board and assembly information; Presidency of Costa Rica, Council of Government.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error