Santo Domingo.- Invigorated retail sales and the staging of four major auto fairs by leading banks during the last three months confirm the Central Bank’s economic growth figures of 4.2% for the first three quarters, with positive expectation for the fourth quarter this year.

Since October banks, dealer associations and S&Ls have staged the auto fairs Expomóvil, BanReservas, Anadive, Autoferia Popular and Asocivu, among others, with transactions of around 5,610 vehicles worth RD$4.5 billion (US$117 million).

Cesar de los Santos, president of the auto dealers grouped in Anadive, affirmed that though the year wasn’t as they expected, there were good fairs, in which more than 50 of its affiliates participated, dozens of financial entities, and insurance and other related companies.

“As president of this organization, these encounters mean a sampling of our institutional development and sustained growth. More than that, these successful fairs that we’ve staged for several years already, are an example of Anadive credibility among the population and the financial sectors that  permanently have backed us,” the business leader said.

Meanwhile Central banker Héctor Valdez Albizu had predicted a revitalized economy during the last three months, basing it on several economic decisions, including the Monetary Board’s easing of interest rates, the release of RD$3.0 billion from the banks’ legal balance to spur economic activities.