Venezuela finmin says takes control of four banks

CARACAS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Venezuela has taken control of four small banks for a variety of operational problems, Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said on Friday.

Speaking on television, Rodriguez said the government was in control of Banco Confederado, Banco Canarias, Banco Provivienda (Banpro) y bolivar banco, because of concerns about their credit portfolios, problems explaining the source of funds and failure to comply with certain obligatory indexes.

On Thursday a senior government official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that the index issue related to solvency.

The banks will continue to operate under government control for the time being and analysts say the action is unlikely to trigger problems in the wider financial system, where 10 large banks control 70 percent of the business.

(By Ana Isabel Martinez; Writing by Frank Jack DanielEditing by W Simon ) Keywords: VENEZUELA BANKS/ ([e-mail]; Tel: [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.