Against a background of state interventions and bad publicity, it is hardly surprising that Nicaragua’s banking system remains fragile.
Rough times began in 1979, when the communist Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) government wrested control from Anastasio Somoza, a notorious dictator. The economy lurched to the left. The banking system, which was relatively solid before the revolution took hold, was nationalised at once. Local banks fell under state hands. Foreign banks were allowed to stay on, but could no longer accept local deposits.
