IMSS abides by ruling
Following a Mexican Supreme Court ruling at the end of January, the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) has announced that same-sex couples who are legally married will receive exactly the same health-care and pension benefits as heterosexual couples covered in the program.
The National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination (Consejo para Prevenir la Discriminación or Conapred) called the move “a significant advance for human rights.” Conapred said it has received notification of 37 cases in Mexico where regional IMSS offices have refused to sign up same-sex couples who are legally married.
US bank scraps fees
Santander Bank, N.A., formerly known as Sovereign Bank, announced last week that its U.S. customers can withdraw money at Santander ATMs in Mexico free of charge. Now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group, the bank is based in Boston, Massachusetts and operates 723 retail banking offices throughout the Northeastern United States. Elimination of these fees follows the bank’s change of name from Sovereign to Santander in October of last year.