Negotiable certificates of deposit, a new investment tool that was authorized in El Salvador, generates expectations because it promises to improve the yield of savings and may be processed with no need to register it in an agency.
The Standards Committee of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) authorized on February 2, 2021 the new investment tool called negotiable certificates of deposit (CDN).
In order to face the crisis generated by the covid-19 outbreak, Costa Rica extended until December 31, 2021 the measure that allows clients of financial institutions to benefit from extensions, refinancing and readjustments without the need to carry out debtor stress analysis.
According to Conassif, additionally, banks were asked to reapply their internal policies for measuring the payment capacity of each client as of April 1, 2021.
Between July and October 2020, the number of people in El Salvador exploring mortgage options online increased by 18%, and the number of Costa Rican consumers looking to buy credit cards decreased by 60%.
CentralAmericaData's interactive platform Consumer Insights monitors in real time the changes in consumer habits in all markets in the region and in other Latin American countries, with fundamental information to understand their behavior, new trends and anticipate eventual changes in their purchase patterns.
The National Assembly of Panama approved in third debate a bill that regulates the service of information on the credit history of consumers.
The legislative plenary approved in third debate initiative 424, which modifies Law 24 of 2002 related to this registration system in the Panamanian Credit Association (APC), in order to create a data model or credit information that is fair and balanced between financial agents and credit clients, the Assembly informed.
Given the outbreak of covid-19 and the imposition of restrictions on economic activity, between February and June of this year the amount of loans granted by the banking sector reported a 1.2% drop.
Data from the Superintendence of the Financial System (SSF) indicate that between February (the month before the beginning of the health and economic crisis) and June of this year, the credit portfolio contracted by $149 million, from $13.276 million to $13.127 million.
At a regional level, nearly 16 million people are looking to purchase financial services online. Of this group of consumers, approximately 11% are exploring options for acquiring a credit card.
The interactive information system developed by CentralAmericaData, monitors in real time the changes in consumer habits in all markets of the region, with fundamental information to understand the new commercial environment that has emerged in an accelerated manner.
Fitch Ratings agreed to change the perspective of the region's banks from stable to negative, arguing that the current health crisis will affect financial institutions in all countries.
Considering the measures that countries have adopted in the last 15 days in economic matters, following the spread of covid-19, Fitch expects that there will be a decrease in the issuance of loans.
The impact of the coronavirus crisis on the financial sector in Central America is expected to be felt mainly in services related to stock brokerage and investment advice, where a drop is expected.
The "Information System for the Impact Analysis of Covid-19 on Business", prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, measures the degree of impact that the crisis will have on companies according to their sector or economic activity, during the coming months.
Local authorities decided to raise by 10% the minimum capital required for the opening of a bank or the operation of existing ones.
The Superintendence of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Siboif) announced that the minimum capital required for banks that already operate or wish to enter was raised by $1.03 million, from $10.67 million to $11.70 million.
Arguing that there were arbitrariness and that due process had not been complied with, former representatives of Financiera de Occidente S.A. decided to file a legal appeal following the suspension of the entity.
In Panama, the Superintendence of Banks states that as a result of the changes made to comply with FATF requirements, 93 bank correspondents have been recovered.
Since the authorities in Panama began to make the changes required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in the regulatory processes, the results have begun to be seen, as several foreign banks have expressed interest in returning to the Panamanian financial center.
Late loans granted by public banks to small companies amounted to 5.5% in May, 3.8% in the case of medium-size companies and 3.3% in the case of large companies, a situation attributed to the economic slowdown.
The percentage of credits reported by the General Superintendence of Financial Entities (Sugef), refers to loans that went into default for more than 90 days and judicial collection, granted by public entities such as the National Bank, Banco de Costa Rica and Banco Popular.
The change from stable to negative in the classification perspective of foreign currency debt would not have, at least in the medium term, significant effects on the Guatemalan financial system.
On April 11, 2019 Fitch Ratings ratified the long-term foreign currency default rating of "BB", but changed the outlook from stable to negative.
The rating agency argued that the revision of the Negative Perspective of Guatemala's debt rating reflects political tension and greater uncertainty in the agents, in addition to a constant erosion in the low tax collection.
Allowing the opening of branches of foreign banks in the country and creating a structure of consolidated supervision of the entire financial system is part of the reform proposed by the Alvarado administration in Costa Rica.
In March of this year, two bills were presented to the Legislative Assembly, one of them seeks that foreign banks can open branches in Costa Rica and the other includes several changes to the Securities Market Regulatory Law.
Since the political and economic crisis began in Nicaragua, credit placement has fallen, while delinquency and loan restructuring have increased.
Data from the Superintendence of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Siboif) indicate that between April 2018 and February 2019, a period during which the political crisis in the country has deepened, the fall in the net credit portfolio was 16%.