MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday that it was a good decision to postpone a controversial new central bank bill that shook confidence in the country's financial system.

Authorities had warned that it could force the bank to add laundered drug money to its reserves.

"It was a good decision that the legislators made in this case because it gives time to assess feelings, everyone's point of view... and inform so that people know what the reform really is about," Lopez Obrador said at his regular news conference.

On Tuesday, the lower house of Congress put the brakes on the bill's approval process.

Critics ranging from the central bank to the United States, ratings agencies and even members of the government warned it could undermine Mexico's financial credibility.