BANK OFFERS UNEMPLOYMENT-INSURANCE POLICIES.

SourceMex Economic News & Analysis on Mexico, November, 2003

In what could eventually become a model for the Mexican government, Grupo Financiero Banamex has created an unemployment-insurance policy that offers participants a source of income in case of layoff or disability. Banamex, an affiliate of US-based Citibank, expects to sell 10,000 policies during the course of the year.

The Banamex plan offers workers two policies, with monthly premiums set at 60 pesos (US$5.46) or 120 pesos (US$10.90) per month, depending on the extent of coverage. In both cases, workers would receive six monthly checks while they seek new jobs. "It's six months of oxygen" for the jobless, said Pablo de la Peza, Banamex's insurance director.

The policy has limited scope, however, because only workers in the formal economy are...