The lower house of the Mexican Congress on Dec. 13 unanimously voted to confirm Carlos Urzúa as finance minister, El Economista reported.

Urzúa, who will serve in the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, previously served as Mexico City's finance secretary.

The minister has previously expressed confidence that legislators and banks would be able to work together on options to reduce the cost of banking services by 2019, following a controversial proposal by the president's MORENA party to slash bank fees.

He also said his government will look to register a primary budget surplus of around 1% in 2019, compared to an anticipated surplus of 0.7% in 2018.

Congressmen also unanimously confirmed Arturo Herrera as deputy finance minister and Gabriel Yorio González as head of the public credit unit of the ministry.

The government AMLO, as the president is known, took power Dec. 1. The confirmation of Urzúa reportedly means he will be able to present the 2019 federal budget in the coming days, El Financiero noted.