The 20.861 reform of the competition promotion and effective consumer defense, which aims to cap credit interest rates, is discussed with the country's Tax Affairs Commission.

Regarding the establishment of a rate cap, Ronulfo Jiménez, legal advisor to the Costa Rican Banking Association, said during the hearing that "... these initiatives are not retroactive, leaving the population with over-indebtedness in that condition, therefore, denies that this will benefit the consumer."

Crhoy.com article explains that, for Jiménez, it must be understood that "... the cap does not remove people's credit needs and rather induces informality in the credit market, in other words, that this informal part is going to enlarge."

Legislator Welmer Ramos believes that the rate caps should be regulated, because there are excessive rates, arguing that there are some pawnshops where compound rates exceed 210%.

According to data from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce the credit card debt balance increased 14.6% in the last year up to July 2018, rising from $1.880 million in July 2017 to $2.155 million in the same month of this year.

Regarding credit figures in the country, data from the Central Bank of Costa Rica detail that in the first six months of the year, a deceleration has been reported in the private sector portfolio, since in January the amount recorded was $34,072 million and the increase compared to the same month in 2017 was 7.9%. However, from February to June, the year-on-year increase has been reduced, as there are 7%, 6%, 5.2%, 4.4% and 3.8% variations for each month, respectively.

Source: Crhoy.com

Do you need information about the financial sector?

Request more information:

Your message has been sent. We will contact you shortly.

Name*

Last Name*

Email:*

Telephone (Country):*

Company:*

Title:*

Size of the Company:* Choose one... Less than 100 employees Between 100 and 500 Between 500 and 2500 More than 2500

Industry:* -None- Agro Alimentos y bebidas Construcción e infraestructura Banca y finanzas Farmacéutica y salud Servicios Retail Automotriz Energía y minería Química y plástico Bienes Raíces Educación Bienes de consumo Industria y manufactura Transporte y logística Telecomunicaciones Administración pública

Yes, I want to receive a call from a salesperson*

Comments:*  

this site is protected by reCAPTCHA and Google's privacy policy and terms of service.

Need assistance? Contact us

(506) 4001-6423

More on this topic

Credit Does Not Rebound, Even With Lower Rates

November 2019

Although The Central Bank has been reducing the monetary policy rate to boost the issuance of bank credit, the speed with which the portfolio of loans in national currency grows continues to decrease.

Official data from the country's financial system indicate that by October 2017 the portfolio of loans in local currency grew to 14%, in the same month of 2018 the rate fell to 6% and by the tenth month of 2019 the increase was just 4%.

Panama: Loan Portfolio Reports Slight Drop

September 2019

Between March and June 2019, the credit portfolio of banks in the national system decreased from $54.857 million to $54.282 million, explained by the decrease in loans granted to the industrial sector.

Regarding the year on year variation of the credit portfolio, in June was reported a 3% increase over the same month in 2018, derived from the rise of the mortgage and personal loans sectors, informed the Superintendence of Banks of Panama.

Loans in Dollars Dynamize Banking Business

December 2018

Between November of this year and the same month of 2017, the portfolio of loans granted by Guatemalan banks to the private sector increased 6%, which is caused by the behavior of loans in dollars.

According to figures from the Bank of Guatemala, between November 2017 and the same month in 2018, total credit to the private sector increased from $24.338 million to $25.877 million.

Costa Rica: Credit Moratorium in Dollars Increases

November 2018

From July 2017 to September 2018, the percentage of loans in dollars with payment arrears over 90 days or in legal collection increased from 1.57% to 2.95%.

The default on dollar loans is still under 3%, which is still considered normal. However, according to the trend reported in recent months in the records of the General Superintendence of Financial Entities (Sugef), the indicator is likely to exceed the 3% barrier.