Between October and December, Ecuadorians living abroad sent their families $643.9 million, while during the same quarter in 2007, they sent$825.6 million.

There was also an 8.9 percent drop compared to the previous quarter.

Between July and September 2008, immigrants sent $706.6 million.

The recession is the cause

The drop in money transfers can be explained "by the recession being experienced by the North American and European economies," according to the Central Bank.

In the last quarter, the U.S. economy fell by 3.8 percent, the largest reduction in the last 26 years, according to sources cited by the Bank.

In the same period, unemployment in Spain increased to 13.9 percent, its highest level in nine years, according to statistics gathered by the Central Bank.

The United States continues to be the largest source country for remittances, representing 46.4 percent of the money transfers arriving in Ecuador, followed by 40.7 percent from Spain, and 7.7 percent from Italy.