In Guatemala, the business group of South American origin acquired 40% of the shares still owned by BAM Financial Corporation, and consolidated 100% of the assets of the Agromercantil Holding Group.
Directors of Bancolombia reported that the company will begin the process of authorizations to regulatory bodies and that in the coming days will provide details on the price of shares, according to the contractual rules between the parties who closed the negotiation.
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 Costa Rica, the Basic Passive Rate dropped from 4.95% to 4.80%, a drop that was influenced by the behavior of public bank rates.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica published on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 26 that after registering a considerable drop the previous week, the Basic Liable Rate fell again, in this case by 0.15% and will remain at 4.80% until next Wednesday, March 4.
As of November 2019 the credit portfolio of banks in the national system totaled $55.723 million, 2% more than reported in the same month of 2018, increase that is explained by loans to the livestock sector, mortgage and personal.
Domestic credit to the private sector reflects an increase of 2.5% over similar period last year. The sectors that drive domestic credit are associated with personal banking products, reported the Superintendency of Banks of Panama.
Arguing that the main economic indicators show a stable behavior, the Central Bank decided at the beginning of the year to maintain the level of the leading interest rate of the monetary policy at 2.75%.
From the Bank of Guatemala's statement:
February 20th, 2020. The Monetary Board, in its session celebrated on February 19, based on the integral analysis of the external and internal economic situation, after evaluating the Inflation Risks Balance, decided to keep the level of the leading interest rate of the monetary policy at 2.75%.
The Basic Passive Rate dropped from 5.65% to 4.95%, while the Effective Dollar Rate also dropped, from 2.41% to 2.35%.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica published on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 19 that after registering a slight fall the previous week, the Basic Passive Rate fell again, in this case by 0.70% and will remain at 4.95% until next Wednesday, December 26.
In a context where economic activity continued to show moderate growth at the end of 2019, the Central Bank decided that as of February 10th the Monetary Policy Rate would be reduced from 5.5% to 5.25%.
From the Central Bank of Honduras press release:
February 5th, 2020. In the ordinary session No.171 held on February 4, 2020, the Open Market Operations Commission (COMA) of the Central Bank of Honduras (BCH) analyzed the current economic conditions and the most recent domestic and external perspectives. In the international environment, global growth projections for 2020 and 2021 were revised downwards by the International Monetary Fund, as a result of lower growth prospects in the United States of America (USA), the Euro Zone, basically Germany and Spain, as well as some emerging countries, including India, Mexico and Chile. The above is added to the world uncertainty for the economic effects that could be derived from the propagation of the coronavirus.
In Costa Rica, the Effective Rate in Dollars registered an increase from 2.47% to 2.49%, and the Basic Passive Rate remained at 5.75%.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica published on Wednesday afternoon, February 5th, that for this week the Basic Passive Rate will remain unchanged for the fourth consecutive week, and will be at 5.75% until next Wednesday, February 12th.
Arguing that for this year inflation is expected to remain around the central value of the target range, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic decided to set the Monetary Policy Rate at 4.5%.
From the BCRD's press release:
January 31st, 2020. In its monetary policy meeting of January 2020, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) decided to maintain its monetary policy rate at 4.50% per annum.
A bill has been submitted to the National Assembly proposing to prohibit the practice of advance discounts for late payments.
The document also provides that banks agree to enter into a payment arrangement with the debtor when the customer is more than 90 days late in paying the loan.
In Costa Rica, a law initiative under discussion seeks to set caps on interest rates on loans, a measure that could lead to a reduction in the offer of credit for debtors classified as higher risk.
As part of a bill being discussed in the Legislative Assembly, the heads of the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) and the General Superintendence of Financial Entities (Sugef) were asked to give their views on the content of the proposal.
In Costa Rica, the Effective Dollar Rate registered an increase for the second consecutive week, in this case from 2.49% to 2.54%.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica published on Wednesday afternoon, January 22 that for the current week the Basic Passive Rate will remain unchanged, and will be at 5.75% until next Wednesday, January 29.
The Basic Passive Rate is an average of the collection rates in colones of the financial institutions at terms of 150 to 210 days.
As of November 2019, the external debt of the private sector reached Ch$1,722 million, which is 5% higher than that reported at the end of 2018.
From the Central Bank of Honduras report:
At the end of November 2019, the total external debt (public and private) registered a balance of US$9,031.0 million, higher by US$14.7 million than the one presented in December 2018.
At the end of 2019 in Guatemala, the loan portfolio granted to the private sector grew by 5% compared to December 2020; however, this increase was far from the 8.5% predicted at the beginning of last year.
Official figures from the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) indicate that between December 2018 and the same month in 2019, the private sector loan portfolio increased from $26,262 million to $27,640 million.
The Basic Passive Rate rose from 5.70% to 5.75%, while the Effective Dollar Rate also rose, in this case from 2.30% to 2.49%.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica published on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 15 that after the drop registered the previous week, the Basic Passive Rate rose by 0.05%, and will remain at 5.75% until next Wednesday, January 22.